The Fire Saviour (OUAT style Ninjago)
by Steampunk Wilson
Summary: Pythor has cast a terrible curse upon all of Ninjago, that has brought everyone, memoryless and separated, to a land without magic. Their only hope is the saviour, the child of a ninja, who is the only one capable of breaking the curse. But first, they must learn to believe in having a family and hope, if they are ever to save and bring together their family again. Title may change
1. A party gone wrong

**I've been planning this for a while. For anyone who misses OUAT and loves Ninjago, this is the fic for you! It will follow a similar style to the show, jumping back and forward with flashbacks every chapter.**

 **In memory of a brilliant show that brought me and my sisters together :)**

 **The ninja are all adults now, and some are married with kids. LloydXOC, KaiXSkylor, JayXNya, ZaneXPIXAL, ColeXNo one, yet :)**

 **I do not own Ninjago, nor do I own Once Upon a Time, or any of it's themes and concept.**

"Party time!" Kai cried as Jay and Nya arrived. "You two said you'd bring the beer!"

"Sure did!" Jay called out of his jeep's window. "Crate's in the back. Is everyone here?"

"Yep, you two are late!" Kai called joyfully back. Skylor rolled her eyes as her husband went round the back of the car and started carrying the crates of drinks round the back of the house.

"Party's round the back." She said as Nya came out of the car.

"Thanks." Nya nodded, watching Jay help Kai with the crates. "Damn, those two are going to get SO drunk!"

Skylor laughed. "I can't drink though." She sighed, patting her stomach gently. Nya nodded.

"I'll support you. No drinking for nine months for both of us!"

"Thanks." Skylor gave her a hug and the two went to the back garden. Everyone was there already, Kai and Skylor's daughter Gwen, Cole, Lloyd and Lloyd's wife Hana and their children. PIXAL, Zane and their kids. Jay, Nya and Cole were the only ones who had yet to get married, but everyone was still waiting for Jay to pop the question and for Cole to actually find a girlfriend.

"Finally!" Lloyd called as Jay and Nya arrived. "We were going to start the party without you!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Jay said in mock anger and hurt. They laughed. Kai unpacked a beer and jumped atop of the wooden outdoor table.

"Careful!" Skylor cried.

"I'm OK!" Kai told her, cracking open his can. "OK, everyone, can I have your attention please?"

The garden fell silent.

"Yes, tonight's celebration will be special!" Kai shouted. "Because it is a celebration of new life, a new elemental master in our ranks. Here's to my beautiful wife, Skylor Chen and that little embryo inside her!"

"Yay!" Everyone cheered and Kai took a sip.

And so the party commenced. It was safe to say that most of the adults got fairly drunk, the young kids got exhausted and the teenagers all hung out by the bonfire.

"So, when do you think we'll be allowed back home? It's starting to get boring" Anita wondered aloud, rubbing her hands to get warm by the fire. Her long blonde hair would probably smell like smoke in the morning.

Anita's twin brother Lukas shrugged as he struggled to open a can of beer.

"Did dad say you were allowed that?"

"No. But he's WAY too intoxicated to stop me." He opened it and took a sip. Anita laughed. The two were Lloyd and Hana's first born children and twin masters of energy, thirteen years old, but both liked to act older.

Sat there also were two others, Cole's adopted daughter, Clarisse, and Zane and PIXAL's robot son, Jason. The four of them had grown up together and were very close friends.

"I'm bored." Came a younger voice, and the eight year old brother of Anita and Lukas, Brent, came up to them.

"Take a nap then." Lukas advised. Brent shook his head.

"No, I'm not a baby."

"Then stop acting like one."

Brent went off in a huff and Jason laughed.

The younger kids were sat closer to the back of the garden in the dark, only three of them, Brent, Gwen, Kai and Skylor's two year old daughter, and Zane and PIXAL's other child, seven year old Todashi, who wasn't a robot, and had been adopted by the two nindroids at the same time as Clarisse had been adopted by Cole. The two had lost their parents in the same battle.

"When are we going home?" Todashi complained. "I want to get back to my acting."

"You mean playing with Barbies." Gwen teased. Todashi scowled.

"I think we may have to sleep over at your house Gwen." Brent said with a smile. Gwen scowled and leaned against the hedge at the end of the garden. She suddenly gave a scream.

"Argh, help, something's got me!"

"GWEN!" Yelled Brent and Todashi, but Gwen was pulled out of sight.

"Gwen?" Skylor had run over after hearing the kids scream.

"She vanished!" Brent shrieked. Skylor reached into her boot and pulled out a dagger.

"Get to your parents." She commanded, and the two were quick to obey.

"Whoever you are, I advise you to let my daughter go or this dagger's going to be sticking out of your ass!" Skylor snapped. There came a laugh from the bushes. A familiar, raspy laugh.

"Oh you never change, Miss Chen. So much like you father. I remember him well."

Skylor's mouth dropped open as the familiar figure slithered through the bushes.

"Pythor!" She growled. "I was wondering when you'd crawl out of your hole!"

"Skylor? What's going on?" Nya ran over and gasped when she saw Pythor holding a terrified Gwen.

"Haha!" Pythor laughed. "Oh ninja! I have a surprise for you!"

"What the... what is he doing here?!" Lloyd gasped. Pythor came forward, right up to the ninja sat on the porch. The teenagers had noticed and run over.

"Dad, who the heck is he?" Anita gasped as she raised her fist, summoning an energy orb.

"Pythor, put her down!" Kai commanded. "Please!"

"Oh gladly, I don't want her!" Pythor threw the toddler towards the ninja and she was caught by a bewildered Cole.

"Well isn't this a happy sight?" Pythor laughed, slithering towards the families. "Such a shame it will have to end."

"Just give it to us straight you evil reptile." Zane snapped, summoning his titanium shurikiens. "What did you come for?"

"Remember when you ninja stole my happy ending? My dream of my Ninjago, where you were the ones forced into the underground and Serpentine ruled the surface?!"

"Technically, that was Lord Garmadon." PIXAL corrected.

"Oh whatever! Now I am here to take that from you! This dream of happiness, that chance of a new life! And it is me who shall have the last laugh!"

"We're not afraid to fight you!" Clarisse spat, drawing a small sword from her sleeve. Cole put his arm in front of her.

"No way kid." He said sternly. Clarisse scowled.

"So, you're just going to attack us? Again? You know that never works in your favour." Jay said with a cocky smile. "Even without our elemental powers."

Pythor laughed again, and shook his head.

"Oh no, no, wouldn't dream of it. But I have been dreaming for a while, of a way I can fight you all by taking everything and becoming the ruler of your lives. And at last, I have made it possible!"

The ninja looked at each other in fear.

"Oh yes. I have found a curse, a terrible, terrible, curse, that will transport you all to a land without magic!" The ninja gasped in shock and fear.

"And yes, you will be separate. You won't remember your children, your friends or lovers. Or homeland. A new place, all of you, alone!"

"No!" Todashi gasped, and Pythor laughed.

"Yes! I will cast this curse in nine months exactly. Just enough time for you to have hope for that little bundle of joy down there." He pointed at Skylor's stomach, and she gasped in fear.

"NO!" Kai screamed, and snatched Clarisse's sword, throwing it at Pythor. The blade disappeared towards the end of the garden as Pythor vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Shit!" Jason cried.

"Language!" PIXAL told him. "There are younger kids here!"

"What does it matter?!" Jason demanded. "In nine months, I won't have my brother, or my cousins or even you guys! And magic maintains my body! What will I be without it!"

Tears were forming in his eyes. Clarisse pulled him into a hug. Everyone just looked at each other.

"It's not possible. Right?" Hana clutched Lloyd's hand. "He can't do that!"

"There's a lot of powerful magic in this land. He could well be telling the truth." He bit his lip.

"Kai." Cole stepped forwards. "Let's go to Ninjago City. We'll find Mistake. She'll help us."

Kai nodded. "Will you guys be alright?"

"We'll have to be. Don't worry. Take care of Gwen and Kai junior." Skylor rolled her eyes, but hugged him hard.

"Good luck mate." Jay told Cole. Cole nodded.

"And to you." He pulled Jay towards himself. "You've got nine months to pop the question mate. Good luck."

Jay squirmed a little. "Yeah. Whatever."

Cole and Kai left shortly after.

No one saw them again for nine months.

 **...Nine Months Later...**

"We're out of ideas!" Hana panicked. "What the heck do we do?"

She, Lloyd and Skylor were in the Temple of Light, their base of operations for the past nine months, after Kai and Cole had disappeared.

"I don't know." Lloyd admitted. He sat down and put his head in his hands.

"We can't give up." Skylor put a hand on his shoulder, though she was heavily pregnant and hadn't seen her husband in nine months, she had a brave smile on her face. "What would Kai have done?"

"Kai is dead!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"On the contrary." They all jumped and turned. Pythor was slithering out of the shadows just like before. And just like before, he held someone in his hand.

Kai, his hands tied and his mouth gagged.

"KAI!" Skylor screamed.

"Mmmm,mmm!" Kai mphed his wife's name.

"And now you can see each other for the last time before you are separated forever!" Pythor laughed. "Poetic, is it not."

"I will kill you, snake!" Hana cried, wielding her blade furiously.

"Doesn't make a difference." Pythor shrugged. "The curse has been already cast, in fact, I see it coming already." He looked out of the temple at a dark cloud gathering and coming towards them.

Pythor drew a dagger from his belt, raised it and stabbed Kai in the back.

"NO!" Skylor screamed as Kai was dropped to the ground. She scrambled and ungagged him.

"Skylor!" Kai wheezed. "I have to tell you... our child, she'll save us, she's..."

"Shh." Skylor stroked his hair gently.

"No." He shook his head furiously. "Our child she's the saviour, she-" He coughed up blood.

"Kai!" Lloyd knelt by Kai's side.

"Gwen, she'll find our unborn child, drink this..." He gestured to a vial he was clutching. Confused, Skylor reached out for the vial.

"No!" Pythor snarled, and kicked it out of Kai's hand. It smashed against the wall. Kai watched in despair, but his eyes slid closed.

"No!" Lloyd screamed. "KAI!"

"Oh he'll be fine." Pythor gave Kai a kick with his tail. "Not dead yet."

Skylor scowled, but understood what Kai had been telling her was so important. The curse was almost upon them, so Skylor quickly crawled forwards and, before Pythor could stop her, she knelt on the floor and liked up all the liquid that had been spilled on the floor. It tasted horrible, but she swallowed. She looked down at her womb.

"Don't worry my child." She whispered. "I know it will be hard for you, but you will save us. Someday, you will save us all. And I will always love you."

The cloud came closer and closer.

"Where will it take us?!" Hana gasped, holding Lloyd's hand.

"Oh, a very special place, just for us. A place called..." He paused for effect. "London City!"

 **If you're wondering why I chose London, rather than America, where OUAT originally takes place, it's because I am not American. I have never been to America, but I have been to London, so it's simply easier to write.**

 **Hana is named after the mother from Wolf Children, by the way.**

 **Next chapter: We get to see everyone's cursed selves :)**

 **Reviews are appreciated :)**


	2. Meeting Cissy Bryant

**Yay, I'm glad people like this concept. I knew you would CHEESEPUFF fg, but others? Yeah! :)**

 **I have decided to keep the names of the ninja's kids the same in their cursed forms, because they're OCs and you probably won't remember who's who and you've just got introduced to them. But the ninja and co have cursed names.**

 **And it'll have way more cursing than the original show, soo, yep.**

It was a usual evening for Cissy Bryant, returning to her dingy flat for half an hour before heading out to work in order to keep rent. Cissy was sixteen and exhausted from school, but needed the money. With a sigh, she ran her hands through her scarlett hair and attempted to find a way to neaten herself up a bit. She didn't want to make a bad first impression this evening. Of course, Cissy's stupidly bad luck had lead to her being on strike.

Her bad luck had started when she's been found, newborn and abandoned on the side of a motorway leading out of London. Her parents hadn't even bothered to give her up for adoption, just left her there. The assholes.

The microwave pinged, alerting her that her lasagne was ready. Cissy sighed and opened it up. She'd have to eat quick, because she'd have to set off for work in ten minutes.

The doorbell rang.

Cissy sighed and went to the door, throwing it open. It opened on a younger girl with dark brown hair and a hopeful smile. Something about her was familiar, but Cissy couldn't quite place what.

"Hello." The girl said awkwardly. Her voice was familiar too. "Are you Cissy Bryant?"

"Erm, yeah." Cissy said. "And you are?"

"Gwen. Gwen Kennedy. I know this is hard to believe but..."

"What?"

"I'm your sister."

For a moment, Cissy was stunned. What? A sister?

Cissy didn't have a sister. She didn't have family. She didn't have friends.

"OK, who's cousin or sister are you?" She demanded. "Who sent this prank?"

"Not a prank." Gwen said, shaking her head. "I'm your sister, Cissy."

"Prove it." Cissy demanded. "Because I don't have a family, and if my parents are out there somewhere, then I want a word, because what sort of assholes abandon their child?!" She breathed out heavily.

"They didn't abandon you." Gwen reassured her. "I know this sounds even crazier, but they didn't have a choice. You see, we're all cursed."

Cissy stared at this new arrival, who appeared to be off her rocker.

"That is literally the stupidest thing anyone has ever said to me." She stated, trying to shut the door on Gwen, but the other girl stuck her foot in the crack.

"Wait!" Gwen implored and Cissy sighed.

"What?"

"I can prove it! Don't you want to meet your family?"

"No."

"Don't lie."

Cissy sighed and decided to play along.

"OK then. So what does this 'curse' do."

"Took our parents and all their friends away from their homeland, a place full of magic called Ninjago."

Cissy laughed.

"Ninja... go? That's a stupid name to give a place!"

Gwen frowned and Cissy giggled feebly.

"Go on then. What were they like in this... ninja go?"

"Well, they were vigilantes of a sort. And they all had elemental powers."

This made Cissy laugh harder.

"What, like in avatar?" **(I think avatar has elements, correct me if I'm wrong)** She laughed.

"What the heck is avatar?"

Cissy laughed. OK, this was a funny prank.

"So, your, oh no, I mean, our parents, what powers did they have?"

"Our dad had fire, and our mum had amber and Cissy," Gwen frowned. "I know you don't believe me, you're just playing me. But that's not to say that it's not the truth. That I'm not your sister and my parents aren't your parents."

Cissy looked at the ground. Did she dare hope? That this girl...

Well, she had choice words for them, that was for sure.

"Where did you say you lived?" She asked quietly.

"This little district of London." Gwen told her, looking excited, but Cissy shook her head.

"Frigging London? Forget it, I need to be at work in... five minutes! Gotta go!"

"You don't like this neighbourhood, do you?" Gwen asked, and Cissy wondered how the heck this girl seemed to know everything about her. "You work in some shitty diner to be able to keep rent on this dump, but you're sixteen, you've never had real friends or family or even a place you feel at home in. I can change all that. Back in my neighbourhood, there's tons of kids with no parents. But this great guy, my teacher, Mr Blacksmith, he's set up a boarding facility in the school. Loads of them live there."

"I've been in and out of boarding facilities all my life, how's it going to be different?"

"Well, it's free, meals and everything, but everyone there is close, like, really close. It's like they're all a family. You could be part of it."

Cissy sighed. "I don't do well with people, I, why am I even telling you this? I only just met you!"

"But don't you feel like you trust me? Like we have a bond? That's what I felt the moment I heard your name. It's like we are sisters!"

Cissy sighed, but Gwen was kind of selling the deal. Cissy did hate her life and maybe, just maybe, this place was different? She didn't know why, she just felt a little drawn to it.

"OK. I'll pack a bag, I guess. But this doesn't mean I'm staying!"

Gwen rolled her eyes, but looked happy.

"Of course."

 **(I'm sorry, it feels really rushed and poor to me, but I needed to get Cissy to Gwen's home town)**

...

Alex Kennedy was one of the biggest men in Airspin Town of London, or Airspin for short, not counting Thomas Artley, of course, who seemed to own everything. He'd been after Alex's business for what felt like decades, but Alex would never give in. He loved pissing Mr Artley off, almost as much as he loved pissing off his ultimate nemesis, Jeffry Pheonix. No one really liked Mr Artley, even though he practically owned the place.

Alex Kennedy owned one of the biggest industrial companies in the entire city of London, and was pretty rich too. He lived almost alone, only his fourteen year old daughter, Gwen with him. But Alex lived fine as a single man. To tell the truth, he could barely remember Gwen's mother.

Alex sighed as he looked down at the mountain of paperwork on hi desk in front of me. He was too tired to get through it tonight and Gwen had gone out to school that morning and hadn't come back yet. And he'd received a phone call from her teacher (nicknamed Rocky) that she hadn't shown up to school. He was worried. Had Mr Pheonix or Mr Artley taken her? No, they wouldn't go as far as blackmail, would they?

He heard the front door to the large bungalow open. Alex quickly turned his wheelchair around and wheeled out of his office into the main landing. There was Gwen at last, just hanging up her coat. Alex gave a sigh of relief, but tried to act cross.

"And where have you been young lady?" He demanded, crossing his arms.

"Out." Gwen said casually. "What's for dinner?"

"Out where?!" Alex asked. "It's nine o clock, I haven't seen you in twelve hours and you don't expect me to be worried? I'm your dad."

"I know." Gwen gave a small smile. "I just, had to take care of some things, and I ran an errand for Jason as well."

Alex sighed. "Well, at least you're back safe. Dinner's in the fridge and then to bed because you have school in the morning."

"Seriously? The kids in the boarding facility get to stay up as late as they want!"

"Yeah, and if I was in charge, they wouldn't. Chop chop young lady!"

Gwen sighed. "Well, speaking of them, they have a new member, I think. Cissy Bryant."

Gwen hoped that the name of her sister would spark some memory in her father, but no avail. Alex just shrugged.

"Whatever. I've got work to do."

Gwen knew this wasn't her father, not really, just a cursed version of him who thought his whole bottom half had been paralysed in a car accident. Gwen knew the truth, but it seemed she was the only one. The kids at school, the nice waitress at the diner, even her teacher, all thought they were normal people.

But Gwen and only Gwen, it seemed, knew the truth.

But now Cissy was here, perhaps things would change.

 **I originally planned to have all the ninja's cursed selves introduced this chapter, but I'm too tired to finish this chapter properly and all my year eleven friends left school today and I still have over a year until I can leave it behind too, so yeah, whatever, points go to whoever can guess Alex's true identity, and perhaps other characters mentioned. :)**

 **Credit to CHEESEPUFF fg, who came up with the name of Gwen's home town :)**


	3. Borg Steakhouse

**Sorry it took so long, but I haven't been able to write as often.**

 **NinjaJo: Yay, hope you enjoy the rest :)**

 **CHEESEPUFF fg: I don't know, somewhere outside London, couple of hours drive there, Kent? My geography of that area isn't that great. Thanks :)**

 **Hope you all enjoy :)**

"Hey kid, you been sleeping there all night?" Cissy yawned and blinked her eyes open to see a frowning, blonde haired young woman looking down at her.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" Cissy sat up. "I just recently came to town with this girl and she discovered that she had, like, fifty thousand missed calls or something so had to go home and directed me to some boarding facility, only forgot to mention that they had a long ass waiting list and I couldn't get a bed for the night and I'm skint and don't even have a place to stay or a clue as to why I'm here or-"

"Hey, calm down sister!" The woman sat on the bench next to Cissy. "So you're looking to stay in Airspin? Where were you before?"

"Some dump towards the east." Cissy shrugged. "I don't have parents and Gwen made this place sound alright."

"Gwen Kennedy? As in, Alex Kennedy's daughter?" Cissy shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Well, Gwen usually stops by this diner on her way to school. Why don't you come and get a bite to eat?"

"I don't have any money."

"Did I ask that?"

Cissy smiled. "Thanks, uh-"

"Pixie." The woman said with a smile. "Pixie Ginger." She directed Cissy inside the Borg Steakhouse.

...

Gwen wanted to stop into the steakhouse on the way to school, but was already late and had forgotten to grab her purse. It was OK. She would just beg something off Jason, who she was sure had a crush on her.

Gwen didn't quit know why all the ninja's kids were more or less the same age, fourteen to sixteen, and Cissy was older than her. Something Pythor, or Mr Thomas, as he was known here, had done as a joke, or to make Gwen's theory seem more unlikely? She had no idea.

"Gwen!" Gwen jumped as she heard her name called from across the street. She saw the twins leaving their house with their father leaning against the doorway, paying her no mind. Well, she was Alex Kennedy's daughter, and Jeffry Pheonix was her dad's rival. His long blonde hair blew in the wind.

"Hey!" Anita called as she caught up. Lukas was slower, rubbing his eyes in a sleepy fashion.

"Hey guys. I guess we're all going to be a tad late." She said with a smile. Though their fathers were both business enemies, the children were both motherless and got on rather well.

"Yeah, Lukas overslept." Anita commented. Lukas shrugged as the trio made their way to the school. Gwen kept an eye out for Cissy, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Hurry up kids!" Their teacher, Mister Blacksmith called from the classroom door. He preferred to be known as Rocky to everyone, though his first name was Nickolas, but Rocky suited him fine. He was built like a rock, muscular under his baggy brown sweater and a mop of shaggy brown hair. He was a friendly guy who loved kids, teaching and cake.

"Sorry Mister Blacksmith." Gwen said quickly, but he held up a hand.

"What have I told you, Miss Kennedy?"

"Call you Rocky, but-"

"No buts, get yours inside my classroom pronto. You two, Miss and Mr Pheonix."

The three kids hurried inside, glad that their teacher was so kind. Gwen hung back momentarily.

"Er, Rocky?"

"Yes Gwen?"

"Did you get notified about a new student, Cissy Bryant?"

Mr Blacksmith frowned. "No, no new students I've been told about. You could check other classes though, why?"

"Oh nothing, doesn't matter." Gwen hurried inside. She may just have to sneak out at lunch and see where Cissy had gotten to.

...

"So you're looking to stay?" Pixie asked as Cissy made her way through a stack of chocolate syrupy pancakes.

"Yeah." She said, "Oh and these are delicious by the way."

"Thanks. I'll tell Colin that, he owns the joint. Cooks a lot too."

Cissy nodded. "So, know any cheap lodgings?"

"Boarding facility's free, but..." Pixie looked around quickly and leaned towards Cissy.

"I've lived in this area of the city a long, long time. I happen to know that if you shake the right hands and slip the right amount of cash into the right pockets, you can get a spot in the right building to kip."

She gestured with her head. "Come on tiger. Come with me."

Cissy finished up her pancakes and the two stood up. A red headed waitress was mopping the floor, looking stressed. Pixie frowned at her.

"Missed a spot, red." The woman's name tag read _Jean Red_.

Jean Red scowled and bit her lip. Pixie headed out, but Cissy lingered a moment longer. The woman looked tired and ticked off, but kind too, like she had a mother's touch...

Cissy shook her head and hurried off after Pixie.

...

"This is Lightning Drive." Pixie gestured to the tall buildings and streetlamps. "Everything seems to be compensating for something, except the people maybe." Cissy gave a hollow laugh, and shivered. The sun didn't seem to shine down here.

The pair reached the end of the street, a storage yard, filled with the huge storage lockers and with a heavy metal padlock on the gate. The office appeared to be a storage locker stood on it's own, jutting out from the chain link fence, with blue spray paint labelling it _Lightning Storage Yard, Office_.

"This is the place." Pixie said. "Come on, don't be nervous." She rapped on the metal of the locker door. "Yo Blue, you in?"

"Not so loud, got a headache!" Called a voice from inside, and the door creaked and was lifted up by someone within. Eventually, it revealed a short man with auburn hair, a dark blue eyepatch and a nasty scowl. He wore a vest top under a dark blue tuxedo, giving him a smart, yet muscular appearance. A lightning pendant hung from his neck. His dark blue working eye swept over Cissy.

"Cissy, this is Mr Blue. Blue, Cissy Bryant."

"Erm, nice to meet you." Cissy muttered. Mr Blue seemed a little on the scary side.

"So, what can I do for you two ladies?" Mr Blue directed them inside. It was cold looking with a vending machine of drinks and snacks. A packet of something called Ninja Chips, was open on the small desk, which was bare of photo, but covered in paperwork. There was a single picture on the wall, of a kind looking woman with black hair. She wasn't familiar.

"Cissy here wants a spot in the boarding facility." Pixie put a hand on her shoulder. Mr Blue raised his eyebrows.

"Long waiting list there." He said, munching on a crisp without offering Pixie and Cissy a drink. "What do I have to do with that?"

"Don't play dumb."

"Just kidding love. What have you got for me?"

Pixie dug in her pocket and brought out a napkin that was covered in scribbles.

"As requested, another one of Mr Thomas's napkins that he scribbled on and forgot on his table. What are they for again?"

"Never you mind." Mr Blue rolled his eye, but there was a greedy glint in it. "Give it over Pix."

"I've told you I hate that nickname." Pixie gave him the napkin, which was quickly pocketed. "So, Cissy gets a place?"

"Sure, sure." Mr Blue muttered. "See you Pix." He grinned a Pixie scowled, then looked down at Cissy.

"So, what brings you to Airspin?"

"Erm, I dunno." Cissy felt rather under inspection. "Plenty of interesting people."

"Got that right." Mr Blue nodded. He reached out with his hand, a heavy silver ring over his wedding finger. Confused, Cissy shook it. Even more confused, she heard a voice that sounded very similar to Mr Blue's in her head, saying _She may be more right than you think._

Cissy quickly pulled her hand away and the two left Mr Blue alone, staring after them. He didn't speak for a long, long time, then his face cracked into a wild grin.

"So, the famous saviour, huh? To be honest, I thought she'd be taller."

 **I understand I have introduced everyone but Nya and Zane, but he'll come in next chapter and Nya... well, she'll come. Hope you enjoyed this section. :)**


	4. The old storage man

**SEASON 9! IT WAS AWESOME! CHECK OUT THE EPISODE ON YOUTUBE! :D :D :D :D**

 **WindNinja333: You should, but it would take you AGES because there's seven seasons with round about 22 episodes each and the episodes are almost an hour long. Thanks, I hope you can follow it OK :)**

 **CHEESEPUFF fg: Yes. Yes. Well done. Jay is kind of like Mr Gold, hence the Mr colour part, in this, even owns a place where random objects get dumped (hint hint). I know that, I just didn't want to put it down in the replies in case you didn't want people to know.**

 **In case it's a little confusing to anyone, here's the ninja's cursed forms all laid out: Kai=Alex Kennedy, Skylor=Jean Red, PIXAL=Pixie Ginger, Cole=Mr Blacksmith, Lloyd=Jeffry Pheonix, Jay=Mr Blue and Nya and Zane haven't been introduced yet. You'll see Zane this chapter though (haha).**

 **Here we go...**

Jay Walker. That was the name he loved and yearned to be called again. Not Blue, or Mr Blue or the name he had been given at the curse, Dewy. He was Jay Walker, or Jay Gordon, he knew it. He just wished someone else, anyone else, knew this. Even as Jay had woken up in his cursed form, something hadn't quite sat right with that name, nor his profession. He had ignored it, of course, and continued on the many years, he wasn't sure just how many, as Mr Blue, the likable storage man who knew everyone and lived his life single. Then one day, he had woken up. He had been stood at this very counter, taking a drink from a can from his vending machine, then BOOM, it came back to him, all of it, first hearing Nya's name, his true potential, the final battle, losing Zane, fighting Cole, facing his fears, beating Nadakhan and being the hero for once - he had been so overwhelmed by it all that he had had to hold onto the desk to stay upright.

The last thing to come back to him had almost crushed him. He had been so excited to be himself again, then he remembered where Nya was now.

He had fallen then, to his knees, all that pain back in a rush.

Jay Walker, the failure.

He had confronted Pythor, who hadn't denied being awake for a second. He had laughed and wished Jay luck living in a world where no one knew him.

They only knew Mr Blue, who didn't really exist.

Jay Walker was invisible to them. Nya would have helped, if only she was here.

Jay hadn't seen her. He didn't really want to, to be honest. To see her trapped in this curse.

But now, Cissy Bryant had shown up after all these years, Kai's daughter he had instantly recognised, no one else would have Kai's almost invisible freckles, yet Skylor's trademark scarlet locks. Jay didn't expect much, not yet. But all his hope was pinned on that girl.

...

"OK guys, we've got a new student and roommate for some of you." Mr Blacksmith announced, and Gwen looked up eagerly. She wasn't disappointed. Cissy stood by the door, looking rather pissed off. "This here's Cissy Bryant. Cissy, grab yourself a seat." Cissy looked around and Gwen hoped she would sit next to her, but Cissy chose the seat next to Tori, who looked rather lonely. Tori was lonely, being one of the orphans, having very little friends and was kind of antisocial and being the only LGBT kid there that they knew of.

"OK, just a quick tour of the desks for you Cissy." Mr Blacksmith sat on his own desk and started pointing round the classroom. "Back to front, Jason and Clarisse, Brent and Lukas, then there's you and Todasha and Gwen and Anita, right here in front of me because they can't behave. I'm Mr Blacksmith, but I let you call me Rocky. Got it?"

Cissy gave a little nod.

"Good. Now Todasha, catch your new friend up on quadratics for a sec, while you get started on your worksheets..."

Gwen leaned back on her chair and tried to catch her sister's attention. Cissy ignored her and started talking to Tori.

"You moving into the dorms?" Tori asked. Cissy nodded.

"I've got no parents."

"Me neither. I got abandoned on a highway between here and Kent." Cissy couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Really? Me too!" They laughed.

"Cissy." Gwen hissed. Cissy sighed and turned to face her.

"What?"

"You got a place!" Gwen gave her a thumbs up. Cissy returned them with a thumbs down.

"No thanks to you. I had to rely on a kind waitress and a creepy guy running storage to get me in."

"Hold on, you went down Lightning Drive?" Anita exclaimed, eavesdropping. Cissy nodded and she gasped. "The guy down there, Mr Blue? He is SOOOOOOO freaky!"

"I heard he's from a different country." Tori inputted.

"No way, his accent's from here, but he don't look like he's from here either. Too tanned." Lukas said.

"I bet he's ill, up here." Jason called, tapping his head, and Brent laughed.

"Guys, enough chit chat." Mr Blacksmith called, and the class immediately buckled down to work. Except one.

"Who do you think Mr Blue is, sir?" Jason asked. Mr Blacksmith sighed.

"A bit of a weirdo, but he's not dangerous and not worth failing your GCSEs over. Now get!"

The class giggled feebly, and got to work.

...

"Incoming call, answer your-" Jay thumped his finger on the answer button.

"Yello?" He called into it.

"Hey Blue." He sighed as the familiar voice hit his ears. Out of all the ninja's cursed forms, Zane had pulled the worst straw. The overweight gamer and nerd who lived down Birchwood Avenue and probably spent his days at his computer with junk food was calling again.

"Mr Whitehead, how can I help?"

"I need a 60's radio, four by twenty, it's in my locker." Jay rolled his eyes. Driving down to the other end of the district would take the rest of the day, and there was still the journey back to be considered. And Jay had a great deal of moping around to do.

"Can't you get it yourself?"

"Can't in the middle of a tournament, and I still have to fix up some robot for Pheonix. Come on, can't you do a favour for your old pal Julien?"

Jay gave an aggravated sigh. Wishing he'd proposed sooner would have to wait.

"Fine."

"Yes, OK, gotta go, door's unlocked, just dump it in the kitchen."

Jay slammed the phone onto the receiver.

"Tinkering's my thing, you fat idiot." He muttered. He went out into the yard where the lockers were. There seemed to be one for all of the ninja, plus their wives and a couple of kids too. And some others, such as Dareth, Ronin, the commissioner, he wasn't too sure about them, but looking inside, it was definitely their stuff. Jay crossed to Zane's, or Julien Whitehead's, opened it up with his spare key and went inside. It was filled with old machine parts. He was sure Zane had never been inside, so managed to find the radio easily, as he had filled his days with organising it all. Jay loaded the radio into his van and drove across town to Zane's apartment.

"Whitehead? Got your radio!" He kicked the door in and dumped it on the floor, wiping his sweaty forehead.

"Keep it down!" Julien called from his bedroom. Jay came through in time to see Julien lose his second to last life.

"Damn it!" He sighed. Jay immediately saw what had been done wrong.

"Here." He took the console into his own hands and made his way speedily past the level with no problems and made sure that the other players would never forget their humiliating defeat.

"Boom." He gave the console back. Julien gasped.

"How did you learn to play like that?"

Rather than tell Zane that it had been that very nindroid to teach him, Jay shrugged.

"Got a lot of spare time on my hands." Jay looked over at the robot in the corner and his mouth fell open. It was an exact replica of the one he had built for his and Nya's first anniversary, only it had gone very wrong and instead of giving her flowers, she'd had to cut it to pieces before it killed her. Thinking of Nya made Jay sad, so he turned away.

"That bot, where'd you get the blueprints?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

"Drew 'em up myself." Julien bragged. "But I think the idea came from this guy I used to know, can't quite remember his name though, Jayden or James..."

Jay's face lit up. There was Zane still in there! All Jay had to do was show him the light.

Jay thought back to Zane's locker. Right at the back, two disused robots, hidden out of sight because he couldn't bare to look at them anymore.

A steakhouse, where they served the best pancakes...

Julien was about to start level four, but Jay snatched his hand away.

"You wanna join me for dinner?" He asked. Julien frowned.

"You can't cook."

"No, but I know a place where they can. And I don't want to dine alone. Come on Whitehead. You and me, just like old times. You can finish playing with little kids later."

Julien sighed. "Fine. Where is this place?"

Jay grinned. "I'll show you."

...

"Hey Blue, coming out of your shell at last?" The red headed waitress asked with a grin.

"Yep, and I brought someone with me." He gestured to Julien, who was looking around the place with a grin. Jean laughed.

"I'll get Pixie." She said with a sigh. "Yo Pix, your favourite customer!"

"Don't call me that!" Pixie snapped, but she smiled when she saw Jay. "Hey Blue. Who's this?"

"My old friend, Julien Whitehead." Jay gestured. Pixie grinned at Julien, who gave a shy grin back.

"Well Julien, welcome and I hope to see you back." She winked at him and inside, Jay gave himself a little fist bump. Good idea Jay!

"Well grab a table boys, I'll bring you a couple of menus." She sauntered off. Jay and Julien sat down.

"You think she's cute, don't you?" Jay asked, straightening the rack of sauces. Julien blushed.

"No, not at all, no I'm fine!" He squeaked and Jay laughed.

"Please don't Blue."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."


	5. Drive Through

**Hi again, sorry it's late, I had to go on camp over the weekend.**

 **The Titan's Shadow: Thou has introduced him to junk food! :) Both him and PIXAL are pretty different in this, well they aren't nindroids anymore, have to adjust somehow! Thanks, it's really great to hear people like this, even though it's not my concept. Thanks! :)**

 **CHEESEPUFF fg: Thanks :) OK, I don't usually don't reveal that to people, but, you know, personal preference. No, I don't think his cursed form has one. Hehe, read the reply above :)**

 **Sorry again for my lazy update schedule. By the way, flashback scenes will be in italix :)**

Jean Red watched Pixie's casual toss of hair as she took the order for Mr Blue and his friend. She didn't know much about the mysterious storage man, except, one minute dark and moody, the next, a laughable joker. Right now he was the latter, skimming the menu with his one good eye and a smile on his face. She got the feeling Pixie was flirting just to let the guy down, and hoped he was smarter than that. From his blush, it didn't look it.

"Hey Red, we got a double cheeseburger and the pesto salad." Pixie called, flicking her a scrap of paper and Jean rolled her eyes. The other woman tended to treat her co-worker like shit half the time, and Jean was way to used to it for comfort. But what could she do? She had to work to pay rent and keep that crappy apartment roof over her head.

"Hey Jean, could you monitor the drive through for a while? I'm getting kind of sick of human interaction." Jean's boss, Colin came through, leaning on his stick. His jet black hair was neat as always, but his glasses were covered in smudges from cleaning them too regularly. She nodded.

"Sure thing. If you make these orders." She passed him the paper and went to the window in the back of the kitchen. It was quiet back here, no annoying fellow waitress, just her and her thoughts.

Jean started handing across packaged food to customers as it drew towards lunch time. She was hungry, but hadn't the time to stop for a break, and besides, she had left her lunch at home. She could always use her hour's break to order from the menu, but years of working here had left her without a taste for this greasy food that the diner served. Jean preferred a salad, or ice cream. Who didn't like ice cream?

She hadn't had it for ages though, too busy working and, besides, you didn't enjoy ice cream alone. Jean didn't really have any friends and definitely not a significant other. She lived a loney life by herself, no purpose for it. She wanted something to fill that hole. Kids. Only she didn't have any. She had tried in high school, but that had only ended in miscarriage.

Still, would have been nice to have extra mouths to feed.

...

 _"Kai?" Skylor exclaimed from the peephole in her apartment door. She rolled her eyes and opened it. The fire ninja held in his hands a bouqet and his hair was... combed?_

 _"Well well well." Skylor rolled her eyes. "Come crawling back, have we? I said, it's too late, so get lost!" She made to slam the door in his face._

 _"Sky, please!" Kai wedged his foot in the crack. Skylor glared. "Look, I know what I did as wrong, but-"_

 _"I don't want to hear it." Skylor felt a tear in his eye and blinked it away angrily. "We had this argument two months ago! And here you are again!"_

 _"Look, things have changed, I've changed."_

 _"Kai, no, no you haven't." Skylor sighed. "You're still the same old teenager who wants himself a girl in his life and after one of them kicks you to the curb, you'll pick some flowers, apologise and call it a day!"_

 _"I'm nineteen!"_

 _"Do I look like I give a damn? I'm eighteen. I've learnt how to say no to something that will just end badly for the both of us." Kai shook his head desperately, but Skylor gave him a slow and steady look of disapproval._

 _"So you're just going to ignore your heart?"_

 _This surprised Skylor, but she still kept her gaze._

 _"My mother went with her heart. Look who she ended up with."_

 _And with no further word, she slammed the door in her ex's face._

...

Alex Kennedy, for once, decided to go out for lunch, not because he needed to, but because he felt the need to eat something other than the leftovers in the fridge. And he was lonely. For a businessman, he barely ever went to the place he ran, and the only people he really saw were complaining employees, Jeffry Pheonix (smug bastard) and his daughter. He didn't really have friends.

Transferring his wheelchair into the car and then himself to the driver's seat was a tricky task to do alone, and yet again, Alex thanked the fact that everything to do with that ran on simple remote control, and that he was strong enough to manover himself about the place.

Alex didn't quite remember the accident where he had lost his power to walk. But he remembered the moment, the exact moment. A sharp, hot, piercing pain in his back, the jolting feeling of hitting the floor very hard and a scream, coming from somewhere, saying something he couldn't make out. He assumed that it had been himself. Or his wife, who had died in the very same crash.

No, not going to think about her.

Alex took the wheel and drove. Although his feet couldn't use the pedals, there were small switches the car had specially fitted on the wheel that worked this way. The car suited him, he liked the colour, though red would have been better.

Orange was fine.

Alex made a quick decision that he didn't really care about and turned into the drive through for the Borg Steakhouse. A quick glance at the menu told him all he needed to know, this restaurant served crap. Meh, too late to back out now!

"Hello, welcome to the Borg Steakhouse. What can I get for you?" Alex saw a bored looking, red headed waitress and his dark brown eyes widened.

She was shockingly beautiful. Her long red locks came to her shoulders and glistened in the early afternoon sun, her eyes shone brightly, like two pools of green and her nose was just plain cute.

"Hello? Anything going on in that head?"

Alex snapped out of his daze and placed his order. The waistress set about preparing.

"Drive through seems kind of empty. You'd think with it being lunch and all, you'd have crowds." Alex attempted casual conversation. The waitress shrugged.

"Business is going down lately, and Pixie's getting pretty pissed about it. Though, she'll get pissed about anything."

"The manager?" The waitress laughed and shook her head.

"Nah, another waitress. If you came here often, you'd see her about."

"My first time."

"Well then, can I recommend a dish better than the crap you ordered?"

Alex laughed. "Go on."

"Here." The waitress passed over a plastic kid's lunchbox that contained some Clingfilm wrapped sandwiches. "Colin's lunch. He said I could have it and he makes the best egg and cress."

"Why thank you." Alex handed her a tenner, but she shook her head.

"Free of charge."

"I insist. At least give it to Colin."

The waitress nodded. "I will, Mr..."

"Kennedy." Alex grinned at her. "Alex Kennedy."

"Jean Red. You got anything to do later?"

"Oh erm, perhaps, if that order comes in. Why?"

Jean grinned. "Because there's another car behind you that seems rather impatient."

"Oh, right, sorry. Erm thanks for the sandwiches."

"You're welcome. Thanks for the money." Alex nodded and the two gazed at each other for another moment before the driver honked the horn again.

"Move it, will you Kennedy!"

Alex rolled his eyes. How could he mistake Jeffry Phoenix's lime green Ferrari?

"Spit in his order for me." He told Jean, who grinned and winked. As he drove off, Alex wanted to give Jean one last glance back, but didn't want to risk it. He had had enough of driving accidents for a lifetime.

...

 _"Didn't go well, did it?" Jay asked as Kai returned to the bounty and flopped down onto the sofa._

 _"Does it look like it went well?" Kai had chucked the flowers into the trashcan outside Skylor's apartment. "Where's Lloyd?" At times like this, Kai needed the support of his best friend._

 _"Another date with Hana." Kai rolled his eyes._

 _"Oh, so he can get the woman he wants!" Jay sat on the sofa beside him._

 _"Don't feel bad, she's just still mad for what you did. She'll come around."_

 _"It's been two freaking months Jay!"_

 _"And to be honest, what you did wasn't very forgivable." Kai glared, then sighed._

 _"Sorry, I just... I can't stop thinking about her. I've had a truckload of girls, but Skylor's the only one I've actually wanted to stay with and being with her just felt so... right, you know?"_

 _Jay nodded. "I know. Nya feels right to be with, but-"_

 _"Just ask for my frigging blessing Jay, I honestly don't care anymore." Jay shook his head._

 _"No, that's not," He sighed. "Kai, you really hurt Skylor by what you did. That proves she cares."_

 _Kai thought about this. "Yeah, I guess. But all that's got to happen is Cole get a girlfriend finally and then I'll be the only single ninja on the team."_

 _"Cole's never getting a girlfriend. Or he already has one and that's what he's doing when he keeps going out for ages." Kai gave a small grin._

 _"I suppose there's still hope."_

...

As Jean sent Jeffry Pheonix on his way with some saliva and fries, she couldn't stop thinking about Alex Kennedy. Of course she'd heard his name before, but had never seen the famous industrialist in person. He was a lot cuter than she though he would be, and kind too. She fingered the five pound note in hand and was tempted to keep it from Colin. It would feed her for two days, if she ate small. Though, to a man like Kennedy, ten pound notes were probably like toilet paper, which Jean had to steal from the diner to save money.

Of course Alex would never look at a poor waitress like her, if he knew.

...

As Alex stopped the car to eat his sandwiches (which were quite excellent) he couldn't stop thinking about Jean Red. Sure, she was pretty and confident and... well, perfect really. He barely knew her, but still, he felt like something was right with her. When his wife had died, he had told himself that he would never get into a relationship again, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to help himself.

Just one problem.

Jean had been stood, leaning against the counter, on her feet, probably in high heels or nice shoes. Every time he saw a pair of cool shoes, Alex was tempted, but had just kept with his same old battered pair. Anything to do with the lower half of his body, Alex was reluctant. And Jean hadn't seen this from him yet. She'd probably have sympathy, of course, but like everyone, that was all they could feel for him.

Sympathy.

Which Alex hated. He wasn't prepared to let Jean know about the injuries of his past. No need, it didn't matter.

Man, these sandwiches were good!


	6. Jeffry Pheonix's Fire

**Season 9's coming out fast, huh? But it's great. I really ship Cole and young Wu :)**

 **CHEESEPUFF fg: Does it? I'm going to try show more of that this chapter, and later on too. Oh what HASN'T Cole been up to. I think I'll put that in next chapter :) Thanks for reading**

 **The Titan's Shadow: Yay, have I found another regular reviewer? Yep, her cursed form somehow turned into sassy, flirty bitchy, huge contrast! Haha, for a moment there, I thought you two were the same person because you said the same thing, damn, that bit must be effective! You'll find out :)**

 **One more week of school, then summer holidays! YES! MADE IT!**

"This one'll be yours, I'm guessing." Tori opened the door and Cissy's mouth fell open. Sure, the little room was the smallest place she'd ever have to live in, but it was so... cosy. A thick rug, comfy bed, neat little wardrobe, a simple light fitting, but the walls were clean, and there didn't seem to be any mice.

"And that's the bathroom." Tori pointed round the corner to a tiny little ensuite bathroom, so cramped you could sit on the toilet, brush your teeth and have your feet in the shower all at the same time.

"I know it isn't much, but-"

"It's perfect!" Cissy exclaimed, and Tori's face lit up.

"Really?"

"Oh yes! This is the nicest place I've ever had to live in. So, do I have to pay rent or..."

Tori laughed and shook her head.

"Free stuff. Mr Blacksmith set it all up when he saw the amount of orphan kids on the street, or kids who were left alone constantly because their parents work and live in the factories, like me, so he made a place for us all to live. Neat, huh?"

Cissy nodded. "It's strange really, I've never had an adult be nice to be this way before. It's always been me and, me alone."

Tori smiled. "Welcome to Airspin."

...

"OK, I have reviewed your offer." Jeffry Pheonix sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Mr Thomas gazed forward eagerly, the guy was a creep in Jeffry's opinion. He hated him more than he hated his rival, Mr Kennedy, which was saying something. But it had come down to this. Mr Kennedy had won, it was apparent. No, Kennedy hadn't won.

Mr Thomas had.

Asshole.

And he'd be after Kennedy next, good, Jeffry hated his guts. If he was going down, might as well take Kennedy with him.

"So?" Mr Thomas reminded Jeffry to talk.

"I have to say, it is tempting. My whole business for enough savings to last me and my children thirty years, and the alternative being bankruptcy. But why do you want my industry, it's failing and you know it."

"Well, yes." Mr Thomas admitted. "But also, with your rival, Mr Kennedy's," Of course Kennedy came into this, Jeffry wasn't surprised. "I could take what is successful about both businesses and simply add them together. I'm surprised the pair of you didn't think of that yourselves." Jeffry folded his arms and scowled, telling Mr Thomas to keep talking.

"Oh, um yes, so I combine the two and-"

"OK, enough taking about it. Just give me the papers to sign."

Mr Thomas passed the documents over with no argument whatsoever. Jeffry sighed and raised a pen to the paper. Just one signature, one signing of the name that had never really felt right to him. Still he hesitated with his pen over the page. He caught a glimpse of Mr Thomas's eager, angry eyes gazing down at him. Well, it was his whole business enclosed in these documents. He had a right to be hesitant.

Jeffry began to write his name out. L... what? Why did he put an L? His name didn't begin with that letter! Nerves, he guessed.

He crossed out the L and began again. J, e, g... G? OK, what was going on?

Something was preventing him from signing away his business. Jeffry knew it.

"What are you waiting for?" Mr Thomas's cold voice came, slightly agitated.

Suddenly, Jeffry realised the truth, a truth that shocked him.

He actually hated this man.

Whoa! That was new. He wasn't too sure where it had come from either.

"Oh, err, I- Damn, I need to grab the twins from school!" Jeffry stood up, dropping the pen.

"No, wait, can't you-"

"Show yourself out, Mr Thomas, I'll have the paperwork mailed to you later."

"Oh alright." Mr Thomas snapped, standing up. "By tonight, I hope."

"Yes, by tonight." Jeffry lied. The two men left the room, one filled with anger, the other with confusion.

...

Gwen had been waiting for ages to talk to Cissy, and now, finally the opportunity arrived. She slipped down the corridor of the kid's lodgings, looking for Cissy's. They kept their names on the doors, it shouldn't be too hard.

To her surprise, it was rather easy. Cissy was just outside of her door, sticking her name label to it, humming to herself.

"Hey Cissy." Gwen said brightly. Cissy frowned and stopped her humming, but ignored Gwen.

"These rooms are nice, aren't they." Gwen was not to be deterred. "I'm glad you came here."

Cissy sighed. "Why are you here?" She demanded.

"Oh, er, to see how you were settling in."

"And forgot to tell me that you had to go up to Lightning Drive with some waitress and pay Mr Blue in napkins in order to get a place?"

"What? Oh yeah, the waiting list-"

"I had to sleep on a bench in the street because of you!" Cissy rounded on her. "All because of your stupid, ninja fantasy! Does anyone else know, or-"

"NO!" Gwen seemed suddenly panicked. "Cissy, please, they can't find out what I know, not yet!" Cissy rolled her eyes.

"So you're OK with a complete stranger knowing your deluded fantasy, but-"

"I'm not deluded!" Gwen snapped, losing her cool. Then she took a deep breath and regained it. "Cissy, I'm not deluded. I am your sister-"

"So what? I come to meet your dad, but he doesn't have a kid apart from you. And your mum-"

"My dad thinks that OUR mum is dead." Gwen told her. "That she died in a car accident when I was two, and that's how he lost his power to walk-"

"What?"

"But that wasn't a car accident. It was when Pythor, or Mr Thomas as they know him, cast the curse. When he was injured in some way, I'm guessing, and that's when he lost out-"

"OK, just stop!" Cissy held up her hand. "I am sick od you, Gwen. I have finally found a place where I might grow up happy find my life," Gwen saw the tears in Cissy's eyes. "And I want to settle in on my own, maybe have a normal life, no ninjas, no curses, no snakes, just..."

"OK, OK." Gwen sighed. "I'll see you later, I guess." She turned, but with a smile on her lips. She had never mentioned the snakes.

Gwen's phone suddenly beeped into life. She jumped a little, but answered it.

"Hello? Anita?"

"Gwen, HELP!"

...

Jeffry Pheonix's house was a blazing inferno. No one was quite sure how it had started, but there it was, at five o'clock in the afternoon. Jeffry himself had managed to escape and was running circles around the house, panicking and covered in soot.

"LUKAS!" He screamed at the burning house. "ANITA!"

"Mr Pheonix!" Gwen, Kennedy's daughter ran up to the scene, a phone in her hand. "What the heck happened?!"

"Kid, away!" Jeffry snapped. "Lukas and Anita-"

"Here!" Gwen shoved the phone at him. He shoved it to his ear.

"Kids?"

"Dad!" He heard the panicked shout of his daughter on the over end. "We're in our room, we're trapped, Gwen says she's coming-"

"WHAT!" Jeffry turned just in time to see Gwen charge into the inferno. "GWEN!" He shouted. Now three teenagers were trapped inside. Taking a deep breath, Jeffry flipped through Gwen's contacts and pressed the number for the one man who needed to be here.

A contact labelled _Mr Fire Ninja (AKA Dad)_

...

Gwen charged through the house, covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve. She was the daughter of the Master of Fire, not Smoke. But Gwen didn't have powers, she was still scared. But the twins were two of her best friends, she wasn't going to leave her to burn.

Hurrying up the stairs, Gwen knew exactly where to find the twin's bedroom, pieces of burning debries fell from the ceiling. The whole place was becoming increasing unstable. If she wasn't fast, they would all die here.

Reaching the bedroom door that belonged to the twins, Gwen could hear their panicking voices from inside, see the door rattling.

"It won't open, IT WON'T OPEN!"

"Lukas, calm down. Come here, we'll be OK." That sounded like Anita, calming down her younger brother. She imagined the pair sat together, awaiting their fate. Lukas, as usual, had no faith in the situation.

Well her middle name was Faith.

Gwen kicked hard at the door. "Don't worry guys, I'm going to get you out!" She called, and heard Lukas's whoop of delight.

"We're saved."

With some miraculous strength, Gwen kicked the door down, entering the room. The twins were on their feet at once.

"GWEN!" Anita hugged her friend.

"There's time for that later." Gwen tried to act all macho. "Come on." She turned to the door, but saw that it had been covered by a large amount of burning debris. Anita gasped in fear and Lukas moaned.

"Never mind." Gwen said in an overly positive voice. "We'll go out by the window."

"But, it's too high up!" Lukas panicked.

"Would you rather be burnt to a crisp?!" Anita snapped, angry at herself for not thinking of this sooner. Lukas was two hours younger than her, but at moments, it felt like years. She had to protect him.

Gwen wrenched the window up.

"Lukas first." Anita said, and there were no arguments. Lukas took a deep breath and approached the window.

"Just go. Please!" Anita begged. Lukas took a deep breath, and climbed out. He dangled for a few moments, then kicked off from the wall of the house, landing heavily on the street below. Firemen and paramedics were already there, and a few ran towards him. Anita glimpsed her father's frightened face.

"After you." Gwen told her. Anita nodded, climbed onto the window still and jumped, landing heavily on the street below also. She gave a sharp cry of pain and was knocked out.

"ANITA!" Her brother cried. Gwen took a deep breath and prepared to jump.

A piece of hot ash fell from the ceiling. Gwen looked up and, just in time, saw the celling above her about to collapse. She gave a yell and jumped back just in time. Gwen gave a small sigh of relief, but she wasn't relieved for long. The window had just been blocked off the door was still blocked.

She was trapped.


	7. Firey Consequences

**Hehe, kind of a continuation here, cliffhangers :)**

 **CHEESEPUFF fg: Don't worry, I wouldn't kill anyone off. Yet. Hehe, I am WAY too tragic! :) Well, I could make him remember Montgomery at some point. :)**

 **The Titan's Shadow: Are you telling me to be careful or the characters? If it's me, I am a rather depressing writer, YOU HAVE been warned! Damn, you two say such SIMILAR STUFF, this is crazy!**

 **By the way, my school just broke up for the summer, so my updates may become more frequent. :)**

 **And this is a LOOOOONG chapter.**

"PHEONIX!" Alex cried as he wheeled himself up to the house. "What the heck happened, what did you mean about Gwen being in danger?!"

"What do you think?!" Jeffry snapped as he gestured to his blazing house.

"Wha-, you mean, no!"

Suddenly, a scream cut the air and Jeffry saw a figure fall from a window. Lukas.

"LUKAS!" He cried, and a second later, Anita.

Alex saw one last figure stood at the window.

"Gwen!" He cried. His daughter braced herself for the jump, but before she could make it, a load of burning debris came between her and the window.

"NO!" Alex screamed. "Gwen!" He wheeled himself desperately towards the house. Jeffry instantly grabbed him by the back of the chair.

"The hell do you think you're going?"

"To save my daughter!" Alex yelled. "Get off me, you-"

"In that thing?!" Jeffry demanded. "You'll both burn!"

"Let me go! I'd rather burn with her, she's all I've got left!"

Jeffry knew there was no deterring Alex, so simply tipped his chair over, spilling the crippled man onto the ground.

"Hey!"

But Jeffry left him there and ran into his house.

It was a blazing inferno inside and he instantly felt himself choking. Jeffry shoved his sleeve over his face and ran. The whole place was filled with memories, photos, the marks on the wall where he had measured the twins height's all their lives (Lukas was two inches taller), the locked wardrobe of his wife's clothing that he'd kept after she disappeared three years ago. But Jeffry didn't have the time to collect his belongings. He had a child to save.

The twin's bedroom was blocked off my some burning debris, well, it ws smoldering by now, but still hot.

Cursing the situation, Jeffry began to move it aside. He would not let that child die.

...

Lukas scrambled to his feet and limped over to the figure he saw on the ground, limping on a bad ankle. His sister was being seen to, but Lukas wanted to know what was going on.

Alex Kennedy was sprawled on the ground shaking.

"Someone get me up!" He shouted. Lukas managed to help the panicking man back into his chair.

"Where's Gwen?" He asked.

"Inside!" Alex yelled in panic. "You're dad went in-"

"Dad!" Lukas looked panicked at the door. Fire fighters were already attempting to put out the blaze, but were backing off.

"It's gonna blow!" One shouted.

"NO!" Lukas and Alex screamed. Suddenly, Alex felt something. Something in the back of his mind, a vision, a memory...?

 _Don't worry, short stuff, I'll protect you._

His eyes widened. A face, just on the edge of his vision. Mr Pheonix's, he knew it was, but younger. And himself... standing?

The entire front wall of the house crumbled before their eyes.

...

For a moment, no one moved. They just stared at the wreckage and at the two lives that had potentially been lost there. Alex buried his head in his hands. Lukas stared dumbfounded at the burning wreckage that had once been his home.

Then a figure appeared amongst the wreckage. Holding in their arms, a much smaller figure, protecting them with their own body.

Jeffry Pheonix came forward, an unconscious Gwen in his arms, soot on his face and his clothing on fire.

He bore a triumphant smile.

"I got her Kai!" He shouted, then dropped Gwen and collapsed to the ground.

...

 _"So you finally popped the question mate!" Kai exclaimed, slapping Lloyd on the back. Lloyd gave a sheepish grin._

 _"Um, thanks?"_

 _The pair held their red cups and looked around the Bounty, as the coloured lights swept over the dancing and eating people. J_ _ay and Nya were doing a silly waltz and laughing their heads off, Zane was showing PIXAL how to dance the robot and she found it rather amusing, Cole was stuffing his face with the cupcakes he had brought and chatting to a man the pair had never seen before._

 _"Well I kind of had to propose to her." Lloyd went on. "You see, err, Hana's going to have a baby."_

 _"Oh cool, congrats ma- SKYLOR!"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Skylor's here!" Kai gasped, gesturing to the door._

 _"Oh, so she is. I did put the invite on the groupchat-"_

 _"Lloyd, you know things aren't good with me and her!" Kai panicked._

 _"Look, it's been six months since you guys ended her. There's no reason why the pair of you can't be friends."_

 _Kai gave a shrug, and took a pretend sip from his cup. "Just-"_

 _"Lloyd, there you are! Nya was looking for you." Hana appeared out of nowhere and took her fiancé by the arm._

 _"OK, good luck with the girls Kai!" Lloyd said, then he disappeared into the crowd._

 _Kai gulped and simply hoped Skylor wouldn't notice him._

 _Just his luck, he saw her eyes sweep the party and come to rest on him._

 _Shit._

...

"She's awake now. Just a few bumps and bruises and minor burns and a lot of inhaled smoke. But she'll be fine. We're keeping her overnight though, for observation.

"Thank you." Alex wheeled himself along the Airspin Hospital corridor to his daughter's room. Softly, he knocked.

"Dad?! Erm, come in."

Alex opened the door and wheeled himself in.

"Hey there baby girl." He said with a grin. "How are you?"

"OK." Gwen smiled at him. Alex then remembered to lose his cool.

"OK?! You ran into a burning building for..." He took a deep breath. "I have never been that worried in my life, ever. NEVER do that again!"

"OK, OK." Gwen held up her hands. "I'm find though, dad. More than can be said for Anita and Lukas's dad."

"Huh? What happened to Mr Pheonix?"

"Didn't you hear?" Gwen looked sombre. "Anita called me. He's still unconscious and his burns are REALLY bad. If he doesn't wake up soon, they could have to put him on life support!"

Alex put a hand to his mouth.

"I owe him my life and he might lose his! It isn't fair..." Gwen's voice wobbled. Alex came closer to her.

"Gwen, you were so brave last night. You saved your friends and I couldn't be more proud. And Jeffry, um, Mr Pheonix is strong, he'll pull through."

"You sure?"

"He's more well built than I am, and I walk with my arms!" The pair shared a small smile.

"Thanks dad." Gwen hugged him and he hugged her back.

...

"Paper!" There came the shout from outside. Jay stuck his head out the window and saw the usual teen on his bike, Zane and PIXAL's robot kid turned flesh, Jason.

"Sure." Jay tossed him a coin and Jason chucked the paper. Jay caught it, and choked on his tea when he saw the headline.

 **Jeffry Pheonix's house caught in a devastating blaze. The man himself fighting for his life.**

"Motherf..." Jay gasped and continued reading.

 _After a devastating and mysterious fire sprung into life in the house of famed company owner, Jeffry Pheonix, last night, Mr Pheonix and his two children are recovering from various injuries in hospital. After the two children (who have preferred to go unnamed) jumped from a second story window, Mr Pheonix was forced to run into the house and save a third child (also unnamed). Said child is also in recovery, but Mr Pheonix is now on life support at the Airpsin general hospital, and his survival chances are said to be-_

"Shit!" Jay cried, putting a hand to his mouth. He threw the paper angrily across the office, and his morning cup of tea quickly followed it, smashing against the wall, under the portrait of...

Jay clutched the edge of the desk, taking deep breaths.

When he opened his eyes, if anyone else had been there, they would have been able to see lightning flashing across the clear, solid blue.

"Mysterious fire, my ass." He snarled, and stormed out of the building.

...

 _"Hey, is this seat taken?" Someone asked._

 _"No." Kai said, sat on the sofa, lost in thought. If only he hadn't... Skylor?_

 _"Skylor?" He gasped, seeing the familiar woman sat next to him._

 _"Kai." She gave a formal nod._

 _"Erm, you want to sit next to me?"_

 _Skylor gave a little laugh._

 _"We need to talk."_

 _"Agreed."_

 _The pair sat, facing each other._

 _"I, I can't say this enough, but I am really sorry-" Skylor held up her hand._

 _"I know you are Kai. You don't need to say it again. And I said that I needed space and time to think and, I have."_

 _"So?"_

 _Skylor sighed. "I've come to terms with the fact that you haven't changed at all Kai. You are still the same cocky womanizer who competed in the tournemant all those years ago. But that cocky little ninja is the one who won my affection all those years ago, so I guess I'm OK with that."_

 _"So, erm, we're cool?"_

 _"We are." Kai grinned, he hadn't felt this happy in a LONG while._

 _The pair surveyed the party, but no longer as awkward ex's, but friends._

 _It probably would have continued that way, if IT hadn't happened._

 _"INCOMING!" Someone yelled and Kai looked up just in time to see something appear on the bounty's dashboard. A plane. An out of control plane heading their way. WHY had Lloyd decided to host this party in mid air?!_

 _Kai scrambled over the bac of the couch and grabbed the bounty's controls._

 _"Hold on!" He yelled, and swung the bounty to the left so violently that it tipped onto it's side._

 _"Kai, you IDIOT!" Nya yelled as the partygoers had to cling on to anything that was there. Kai managed to right the ship again, but not before the damage had been done._

 _"No!" Hana screamed as a pair of kids who appeared to be her cousins fell right out the door and off the ship._

 _"Lloyd!" Kai yelled, and his friend understood instantly. The pair of them leapt out of the open door, spinjitzuing into their ninja gi's, under their clothes as usual. As the pair fell after the kids, they timed it perfectly, falling so they had almost caught up, then summoned their elemental dragons. Kai managed the catch one of the kids in his arms. He then looked wildly around for Lloyd._

 _"Lloyd?"_

 _"I've got her Kai!" Lloyd called, and the two dragons flew up the newly righted bounty again. Entering, they sat the scared but unharmed kids on the floor._

 _"Is everyone alright?!" Kai shouted._

 _"We're fine!" Skylor called, relieved. "You guys?"_

 _"We're OK." Lloyd said. "Perfectly OK, thank goodness."_

...

As Jay glimpsed his former friend through the window in his hospital door, he felt the knot of anger in his stomach, clench. He knew who had done this. He had been contacted yesterday morning about Jeffry Pheonix meeting with Mr Thomas to discuss selling his business and he had some rather valuable assets to hide in his storage locker, away from the other man's reach. Obviously, the meeting hadn't gone well.

"Well well well. What a tragedy." Jay clenched his teeth as Pythor's smooth voice hit his ears. He turned to see the other man leaning on his smart walking cane, as always, top hat and tuxedo over his neat, white hair. Stereotypical British gentleman. Jay wanted to kill him here and now, but resisted the urge.

"And such a fine man too." Pythor nodded 'sadly'. "We'll all miss him."

"HE isn't dead yet!" Jay snarled. "And cut the bullcrap, Chumsworth!"

"Why Mr Blue, I don't know what-"

"Maybe we should go somewhere more private if they bother you so much." Jay gestured to the nurses who seemed to be eavesdropping. "But you are NOT slithering away from this one!" Jay grabbed Pythor by the arm and down the corridor, to a doctor's lounge. He kicked open the door to reveal two snogging nurses, who looked up in shock.

"Beat it, groupies!" Jay spat, and they practically ran out of the door, slamming it behind them. Jay rounded on Pythor.

"You did this, you serpentine BASTARD!" He yelled.

"Keep your voice down!" Pythor hissed. "Do you want to get thrown into an asylum, because I will gladly put you there!"

"Why?!" That was all Jay could say, tears rolling down his cheeks. "So he refused to sell you his forum! If you had any decency-"

"Why? I hate the little brat and all of you people! You may have headed my tail into me back in Ninjago, but I am in charge here! You have zero right to question me and zero evidence-"

"So you admit it?"

Pythor grinned, showing his teeth.

"What else would have cause the fire?"

Jay slapped him.

Pythor's eyes flashed red in anger. He punched Jay hard in the mouth. Jay stumbled back and spat blood onto the floor. Pythor wore many rings and he may have chipped a tooth. The former serpentine took a deep breath and lowered his arm.

"How dare you-"

"Oh, you want a go?" Jay stripped off his tuxedo, revealing his muscular frame.

"I don't have the time for this!" Pythor snapped, turning towards the door.

"Oh no you don't!" Jay snatched his hat from his head and chucked it across the room.

"Hey-" Pythor turned.

"Come on, snake face. You and me, right here, right now! It'll be just like old times."

"Just like old times..." Pythor smiled. "Only no tail, or powers."

"Nope. But I will make you PAY for every hint of misery you have caused, make you pay for what you did to Lloyd!"

"I'd like to see you try."

...

When the doctors eventually managed to discover and break up the fight, it was far from a scrap. It was turning lethal. Jay had Pythor by the neck and Pythor was repeatedly punching Jay's face. The two were ripped apart and escorted into police custody separately. Jay's face was swollen and on fire with pain, but he regretted nothing. He would make that snake pay yet!

"My image will be ruined!" Pythor snarled. "Oh you will be sorry, Dewy Blue!"

"You'll make me pay even more than I am doing? oh I DOUBT that, Chumsworth!"

 **Sorry it was so long, but I've been trying to get this done all day, so yeah, hope you enjoyed this episode :)**


	8. Pythor's Secret Weapon

**Sorry for the wait guys.**

 **CHEESEPUFF fg: I thought that may get some laughs :) But Lloyd was only doing what was best for Kai. Not quite remembering no, he was just quoting what he said at the party when he caught the falling kid, that line flew into his head, triggered by his near death experience. Yes, Jay go! Though it doesn't quite have a good consequence, as you'll see in this chapter...**

 **The Titan's Shadow: It wasn't suicide, he was trying to save Gwen, even if he never would have made it, even if it meant death for him, Kai would never give up on his family. Like I said to cheesepuff, he just recalled the line he said to Kai in the party and shouted it out. He's not remembering, not yet anyhow. Thanks, I liked coming up with that bit. Exactly! :)**

 **Oh, and, by the way, the youtube advert for league of legends is now my mortal enemy.**

 **But on with this chapter, which does hold some 'shocking' reveals :)**

 _Blood. So much blood. Everywhere..._

 _Jay stumbled, dropping his sword, the last corpse dropping to the ground. This was the third attack this week, and Jay had taken no prisoners. This was all too much..._

 _Jay stumbled over to a well by the little farming village he had just saved. Not caring about polluting the water, he threw up into it and sat back, panting hard. PTSD and trauma had always been a big concern of the ninja, so they were always sure to get together and talk out their issues after a particularly nasty fight. But since Kai and Cole had vanished and Lloyd was spending all his time and energy trying to find a cure for Hana, this was rarely a practise nowadays. And only Jay was here to take care of this. Their team was falling apart at the seams and-_

 _And..._

 _And it was all his fault._

 _Jay stripped off his kimono to reveal the vest shirt he wore underneath and thin trousers. They were shredded above his hip and stained with blood from a stab wound. He slung the kimono over his shoulder and left the swords where they were. He broke into a run, back towards the bike he had ridden here._

 _The village was silent._

 _"You're welcome." He muttered, and revved up the engine and zoomed back to the bounty._

...

Jay was quite grateful that no one had pressed charges for the fight, fines he couldn't pay and sentences he didn't want to serve. Everyone (Pythor and himself most of all) seemed to want to forget the incident had even happened. But of course, this fight and Jeffry Pheonix's house burning down, the papers were having a field day!

Speaking of papers...

"Paper!" Jason yelled through the window.

"No!" Jay snapped back.

"You sure?" The kid called cheekily. "You made the front page. Damn, what did Thomas ever do to you?"

"You'd be surprised." Jay muttered. "No. Give it to some loser who wants it."

"Fair enough." Jason cycled off. Jay sighed. The whole city would probably know by now and no doubt, Pythor was planning some horrible revenge for humiliating him. At least he was unlikely to burn down the storage yard. He knew the stuff in there was way too valuable to be destroyed.

Jason pedalled down the road, the wind in his hair, cooling his sweaty forehead with it's breeze. Lightning Drive was over, he only had one street left, then his paper round was finished. Good. Jason was kind of sick of getting up at six in the morning and minimal pay. But he needed cash if he was ever to woo Gwen into his charms.

Jason grinned at the thought.

He arrived back at the dorms to find there were a few people sat outside, already up, the newbie, Cess? And Todashi, no, Todasha, Tori. Damn, that boy, no girl (he corrected in his head) had way too many names. And Clarisse.

"Hey guys." He called, parking his bike at the bike lock.

"Morning Jason." Tori called brightly. "We still on for karaoke night down the road? Everyone's excited."

"Yeah, you'll be great." Clarisse called after him. Cissy just smiled.

"Sure, sure, I'm gonna go sleep for half an hour or so." Jason nodded at them. "See you in class."

The girls nodded. Jason went inside and Cissy noticed that Clarisse's eyes seemed to follow him in. She smiled.

"You like him, don't you?" She asked with a grin.

"Wha-, no, no I-"

"Oh come ON!" Cissy smiled. "I may not have much experience with other teens, but I can tell you like him!"

"Wait, what?" Tori exclaimed. "Aww Clary..."

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Fine! A little. But I don't have a shot and everyone knows he's hot for Gwen!"

"Yeah." Cissy nodded. 'My sis-' She thought, but stopped herself. No, Gwen was not her sister. She knew the other girl was in hospital after Cissy had treated her so poorly. She felt awful, but still. She wasn't quite buying into Gwen's bullcrap yet. No, not at all.

Cissy knew it wasn't true. There was no way. Right?

...

 _"Jay!" Jay jumped as Nya appeared behind him. He had thought he was alone on board. Turned out there were more of them here, it seemed._

 _"Where's Zane?"_

 _"Helping Lloyd."_

 _Or maybe just the two of them._

 _"Where's your kimono?"_

 _"Needs washing." Jay said gruffly. He made to head to the deck, but Nya moved to stop him._

 _"Jay, we need to talk."_

 _"No we don't." He said quickly. He made to go past her, but she moved again._

 _"Let me past Nya."_

 _"Jay, what is going on with you?!" Nya demanded. "You're out all hours, you barely speak to anyone, you haven't told a joke in weeks! You haven't been yourself since that party-"_

 _"And why should I be?!" Jay snapped. "Kai and Cole are gone, in six months, we will be too! Battles get more gory every day and I keep, I keep..." Jay trailed off. "I was never much good at this, Nya and I... I can't take it anymore."_

 _"Jay..." Nya reached out to touch his arm, but he jerked it away._

 _"Jay, I know things have gotten hard but we WILL get through this! We will find a way-"_

 _Jay laughed, harsh and bitter. "Do you honestly still believe that? No Nya, we won't. In six months, I will lose everything and after how the last month has gone, I- I think I will enjoy it!"_

 _Jay took in a deep breath, recovering his calm. Nya looked horrified._

 _"You, you'll be glad to lose it all. Your parents? Friends? Me?"_

 _"No, no, I-"_

 _"So that's it then. You've got such a messed up mental state that you're willing to sacrifice it all just to lose your problems. Jay, you have been a ninja for years-"_

 _"That's just-"_

 _"Shut UP, Jayden Walker!" Nya seemed on the verge of slapping her boyfriend. "So is that it?"_

 _Jay was silent for a moment in confusion. "Is that what?"_

 _"Why you won't marry me?"_

 _Jay blinked. "I thought you didn't want to get married."_

 _"I didn't when you asked, three years ago! But now we're older and everyone else?"_

 _"So we should just go and follow the crowd?"_

 _"Jay, I know you still love me. I know you do."_

 _"I do Nya." Jay took her hands in his, covered in blood as they were. "But I can't deal with that right now! I won't marry you just to have it all torn away in six months!"_

 _"So you've already given up hope?" Nya looked at him, pleading almost. Jay looked at the ground._

 _"No, I'd just say he's accepted his fate." Both ninja jumped as a very familiar serpentine slithered through the door._

...

The metal door rattled as someone knocked on Jay's office door. He sighed, and screwed on the cap to his drinks bottle.

"It's open, come in." He called, and sat on the leather stool that was behind the desk. The door at the side of the big metal door opened to reveal the last person Jay expected to see that morning.

"Good morning Mr Blue." Mr Thomas said cheerily. Jay's eyes widened in shock.

"Erm, can I help you?" He said, confused.

"Oh no, Mr Blue. I just wanted to introduce you to someone. Someone very special." He grinned. It was a sly and evil grin, one that Jay instinctively knew not to trust.

"Come on in."

And there she was. As beautiful as ever, her black hair a little longer, but still the same old polite smile she had when meeting someone new.

"Hey there." She said. "I'm Kelly Thomas."

"Thomas..." Jay choked out. He looked Pythor in the eye. His grin was still in place.

"Yes, Dewy. This is my wife."

...

"Hey Gwen!" Tori grinned as Gwen limped into the classroom. She should have really been off school a couple of days, but Gwen didn't want to sit at home alone, stuck with the memories of the fire and Lukas and Anita's dad, laid in a coma in hospital. So school seemed to best distraction.

"Gwen Kennedy!" Rock Brookestone seemed surprised. "Are you sure you're meant to be back so soon?"

"Yep." Gwen smiled. She sat down at her desk, an empty seat next to her...

Anita's dad...

Nope, not gonna go there.

"OK, so Brent, can you give me your analysis on..."

As Brent squirmed because he hadn't really been listening, Cissy leaned over towards Gwen an tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh, um, yeah?" Gwen turned around.

"Gwen, are you OK? I heard what happened and after I-"

"You what?" Gwen smiled brightly. "I'm fine Cissy. Totally fine." Her smile was a little too bright.

"OK..." Cissy leaned back, but she wasn't convinced. Something told her that something was very wrong here. No, no, Gwen was fine. Right...

...

Jay wanted to be sick. To scream to fight... But no. All he did was smile, a sickly, false smile.

"Oh, lovely to meet you... Mrs Thomas."

"Oh call me Kelly."

"Kelly..." Jay felt bile rise in his throat.

"So, um, I didn't know Thomas here had a wife?"

Kelly, or rather, Nya, laughed.

"Do you want to tell the story?" She asked Pythor, but there was fondness in her asking. Like the sort someone would ask someone they cared about deeply, something casual.

"Don't mind if I do." Pythor grinned. "Me and Kelly have been split, you see, for, hmm, five years I'd say, and recently got back in touch. We've decided that we should try and make it work again." Jay's head was spinning. He was seeing red, smelling blood. But Pythor wasn't done. There was one final blow to be driven home.

"You know, for the sake of the kids."

Kids.

Kids.

What kids?

His kids?

Pythor's kids?

No.

Nya's kids.

But, but...

"Yeah, twins." Nya nodded. "Nicole and Jayden. They're back at the house now, settling in, but should be joining the school soon." Jay smiled politely and nodded, but he was struggling to breathe.

"How old are they?" He asked in the most casual voice he could muster, though he felt on the verge of passing out.

"Sixteen." Pythor said with the same sly smile.

Sixteen years. Finally, Jay had a number. But...

"Mr Thomas, could you... join me outside for a moment. Ny- Kelly, you can get a drink if you want, make yourself at home."

The two men left the building. Jay took Pythor round the side of the office, then slammed him into the wall with such ferocity that he may have snapped a rib.

"ANSWERS! NOW, YOU ARROGANT, SELFISH, SNAKE FACED CU-"

"Calm yourself Dewy!" Pythor grinned down at him. "There's answers plenty."

"Why?" Jay stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. "Why would you do this? What interest do you have in her? How-"

"Oh please. I hold no interest in your precious girlfriend. Only in hurting you."

...

 _Pythor knocked him to the ground with a flip of the tail from behind his ankles. Jay hit the floor hard, reopening the wound he had received just this morning's battle. Blood came from the stab wound just above his hip, but Pythor had seized Nya by the arm and there was no way he was letting that happen. Jay stood, limping hard. Pythor simply laughed._

 _"Oh Jayden. So pathetic. The fearless blue ninja. I'll never forget what you did to me. I told you at the time I would exact my revenge, and I have. Oh, but I'm not done yet. Not by a long shot._

 _"No!" Jay screamed, but Pythor punched him in the face and down he went again, hitting his head hard. He heard Nya scream his name._

 _Then nothing._

 _When he woke again, Zane was standing over him, looking concerned. He shouted and screamed for Nya, but that was it. She was gone._

...

"Why not straight away?" Jay asked. "Why not bring it out straight away-" He stopped as it dawned on him like a lightning bolt.

"Ah yes, you remember, don't you. I said I would have my revenge for humiliating me in front of everyone. And I did!" He laughed. Jay remained on the ground. The pain still in his hip. Zane had informed him he had been re-stabbed there, Pythor's last revenge, he supposed.

Boy had he been wrong. This was the worst he had ever felt in his life.

"Who's the father?" He whispered.

"Who-"

"WHO IS THE FATHER?!" Jay demanded. "WHO FATHERED THE KIDS?! WAS IT YOU?!" His head turned up to Pythor, his cheeks streaked with tears.

Pythor laughed the loudest Jay had ever heard him.

"Now why would I want that. After all, Nya was quite desperate to marry you, wasn't she? Wonder why that was?"

And with that final torture, Pythor left Jay on the ground, stricken, shocked and injured beyond belief.

But not beyond repair.


	9. Times of Children

**I noticed a really awful mistake in a previous chapter, which I have fixed, just one minor detail had to change. If you care, check it out, if you don't, that's fine.**

 **The Titan's Shadow: That's a lot of whoa's man! Yeah, I was wondering if I got the right name for her, but that's a good name as any. Thanks, it's been one of my favourites to write so far. :)**

 **Guest: (the one who posted their review first) Well Jay did rough him up good! Anyone could expect revenge. Thanks**

 **Guest: Thanks, it's good to know people can follow it who didn't see OUAT. There are a few references here and there you may not get, but not that many, so it's fine. Thank you, that is high praise :). Well, partly. She also loved him and did want to get married. They both did.**

 **And now we have two brand new OCs! What am I doing to myself?!**

"And then Jason said, well I effing may well quit, and he literally threw the stack on the floor, it was SO funny!" Anita gave a laugh and slipped her hand into her father's. "I know you wouldn't have been there anyway, you don't really hang out with the kids, but still... it would have been nice if you were."

She gave a hopeful smile. The machine beeped and she sighed. Her father's face didn't move.

Anita sighed. This was why Lukas never came here. He just made excuses, but Anita knew the truth. Her brother had always been strange and sensitive. Even now, when they were staying with friends in the kid's lodgings. Anita, like Gwen, had thrown herself back into school, in attempt to distract herself from all this, but Lukas stayed in Brent's room, moping.

Well who wouldn't? If they had lost their home and their father was in a coma.

Anita gave a sigh and released her father's hand. In and out, went his breath. In and out.

"Keep doing that." She said with a smile, and kept smiling until she had left the room. Then just thirty seconds. Thirty seconds on a chair outside, collecting herself, preparing herself for another day at school.

Anita sighed and looked back towards her father's room. "I'll make it through if you will." She whispered.

...

"Gwen, you getting up today?"

"Huh?" Gwen gave a moan as she rolled out of bed. Another nightmare about fires kept her up all night. Gosh, school was going to be tiring today. But at least Anita was back. She had texted last night.

Gwen looked up to see her father sat in her doorway.

"Oh, a bit late am I?"

"I called the Borg Steakhouse, when you pass by, you drop in and grab takeaway breakfast. Now get your uniform on, chop chop."

Gwen gave a small laugh, but felt her father's gaze slip from her face to the bandages on her arm.

"Dad, I'm fine. Promise."

Alex sighed.

"Have a nice day, baby girl."

...

 _"Dad, pick up the phone! Dad? You said you'd call! Cole?" Clarisse sighed and put down her phone._

 _"Still no news?" Jason asked from his bed, oiling one of his robotic joints._

 _"You want me to help with that?"_

 _"Here's a tip, Clary. Never oil a robot's joint for him."_

 _"Oh, OK." Clarisse sat back and watched him._

 _"It's only been three days, Clary. He's probably stuck in some magic cave where there's no signal, that's all."_

 _"Yeah, suppose you're right." Clarisse gave a nod. Jason set the oil can aside and smiled._

 _"I know what would take your mind off it. Take all our minds off it."_

 _"A slumber party?"_

 _"Girl, you keep reading my mind!"_

 _"We'll invite the twins, in fact, let's blow the whole hog and invite the little ones too. Everyone needs a break."_

...

Gwen was late, as usual, and Rocky had said he would have a chat with her at the end of the day. A chat, not even a talk. She wasn't in trouble, she never was. Nobody was ever in trouble with Rocky.

"So guys, we've got two new kids joining us today." Their teacher said from his usual pose, sat on the edge of his desk. He gestured to a desk that was usually empty, but this time, was full. Two kids, who looked similar, but not overly so. An auburn haired boy and a black haired girl with freckles.

"Why don't you stand up and tell us who you are and something about yourself?" Rocky's smile was bright and encouraging, and the kids stood.

"Hey, I'm Nicole and I really love hot pink. Literally, you open my bedroom door and it's an overload of hot pink." She grinned in a lazy, confident way.

"That's my girl." Tori muttered with a smile. Nicole overheard and grinned back. She nudged the boy beside her, who jumped a little, as if he hadn't been listening.

"Erm, I'm Jayden and... I dunno, people used to call me Twitch at my old school." The nickname seemed to fit, the boy was fidgety and his attention had already wandred to something outside the window."

"Great." Rocky motioned for them to sit down again. "I'm sure you two will fit in great. Damn, new kids are coming in by the bucket these days!" He glanced at Cissy.

The rest of class passed smoothly, sort of. Neither of the newcomers seemed to struggle with the work, except Jayden's diverting attention. He kept himself to himself, while his sister chatted to Tori a bit about nail polish. Cissy kept a careful eye on Gwen, but she seemd fine. That was the problem though! Who narrowly escaped death in a burning house, yet emerged completely unscathed?! Nobody, that's who. She was sure there was more behind this, she just wasn't sure what.

This was what Cissy discussed with Tori after class as they sat in their usual spot, the wall outside their dorms.

"I just feel like there's something she's hiding!" Cissy said. "I mean, who nearly dies in a fire, but remains unscathed, mentally and physically?!"

"Mmhm." Tori muttered, barely looking up from the book they had been tasked with reading. "Yeah, sure."

"Are you listening?"

"Not really no." Tori marked her page. "To be honest, I don't really see why you care so much. I thought you disliked Gwen."

"What? No, no I don't. She's OK, I don't hate her or anything, a little annoying-"

"Really? The day of the fire, you were having quite an argument in the hallway."

Cissy blushed delicately. "Yeah, well... Who doesn't have arguments these days?"

Tori chuckled. "You sound like her sister."

Sister. What did she say, was Tori in on this... no, no she couldn't be. But Cissy did sound like that protective older sister...

No. That was ridiculous. Wasn't it?

Cissy thought about the other land, Ninja Go? Who was Tori, was she an Elemental Master's kid, or just... no. Descending into madness wouldn't help anyone, certainly not Gwen.

"Come on." She said to Tori. "Let's get ready for the karaoke night."

...

 _"OK... Jason. Truth or dare?"_

 _The slumber party was going great. It was eleven at night and Jason's room was littered with blankets and pillows. The three younger kids had passed out ages ago, Brent like a starfish, Todashi curled in a ball, Gwen hugging a pillow. Now it was time for the teens to play. Truth or dare._

 _"Dare." Jason folded his metal arms. "I'm no coward."_

 _"Oh, you are going to REGRET that!" Lukas said with a grin, rubbing his hands together. He was the daremaster, he had already made Clarisse dump a bowl of water over Todashi's head, and his own sister climb down the side of the building by the drainpipe. But it would more than that to shake a nindroid like Jason._

 _"Hmm, what shall I have you do..." Lukas suddenly snapped his fingers. "Got it. Jason Julien. Your dare is to go down the road to the house at the end of the street. There is a shed in the garden that is filled with sonic metal detectors. One of those being set off would be enough to wake the beagle in the kitchen. Twenty... Oh we best cover our ears!"_

 _Jason laughed._

 _"Sure thing, Lukas Garmadon. And afterward, I will have a truly extravagant dare for you!" Jason left out of the window, jumping to the ground and jogging down the road. The twins and Clarisse watched eagerly as he reached the house and waved. Then he disappeared into the garden._

 _"Oh this is going to good!" Anita exclaimed. "Does he have any earplugs somewhere?"_

 _But Lukas was frozen in his spot, his cocky smile turning into horror._

 _"That's the wrong house!" He gasped. "I meant the other end of the road!"_

 _"Wait, what?"_

 _Clarisse gasped. "That's Mr Gravis's house, isn't it?!"_

 _"The one with the huge dog?"_

 _All three of them swore, then hurried out of the window, after their robot friend._

...

"Thank you very much!" Clarisse said with a grin, dropping the mike. Her song had been hilarious, and the teenage audience was still crying with laughter as they broke into applause.

"OK, that was fun!" Cissy exclaimed. "Who's next, do you reckon?"

"I don't know. Brent said he would do rapping, but he's not here yet." Tori took a sip of her drink.

"Hey, do you mind of we sit here?" Both girls turned to see Nicole stood behind then, holding Jayden by the arm.

"Course not." Tori said quickly. Nicole thanked her and practically pulled Jayden into his seat.

"Thanks, gosh this is all new. Our old neighbourhood was so boring. But you guys seem nice." She spoke rather fast. Jayden drummed on the table to the beat of the next song.

"They're good too." He commented, and sung along a little with the singer onstage. "Oh you're just a firework..."

Cissy's attention diverted as Tori and Nicole dropped into discussion about different shoes and nail polish and other girly things. Her eyes wandered to the other side of the karaoke bar. Gwen had previously been sat with Jason, enjoying herself, but Cissy saw as she made some excuse and left through a back door. Then Cissy heard the words of the song.

"Burn baby burn, like a fire within my..."

"Shit." Cissy whispered. "Erm, gonna get another drink."

No one noticed her leave anyway, except Jayden, but he seemed to forget her instantly.

...

Gwen practically threw herself against the wall in the alley that ran round the side of the bar. She sat down with her back against it, shaking slightly, hugging her knees. Why did this have to happen? She was fine, having a good time, hanging out with Jason and all her other friends. Then someone had to sing that stupid song and it all came back, why Anita and Lukas weren't here tonight, the burns on her arms she had to hide...

Gwen sobbed a little, and tried to squeeze herself into a tight enough ball so that she wouldn't be seen. It failed.

"Gwen?"

Gwen looked up to see Cissy standing over her, looking...

Concerned?

"Yeah?" She asked, trying to sound happy, but another tear escaped down her cheek. Cissy sighed and sat down next to her.

"You're not as OK as you try to seem." She stated.

"Way to state the obvious, Cis." Cissy frowned.

"What? Short for Cissy."

"Don't." Cissy held up a hand. "I don't need a nickname."

Gwen gave a small smile.

"You followed me out here." She said. "Why?"

"I want to make sure you're OK." Cissy sighed. "We may have got off on the wrong foot, but you're an OK person."

"Just OK?" Gwen laughed. "Sorry I haven't... really been myself lately. But-"

"Gwen you don't need to hide stuff." Cissy out a hand on her shoulder. "Honestly, have your parents not noticed your demeanour? You're just... too cheerful."

"Dad's kind of busy with work right now." Gwen said. "And my mum... She's not around."

"At least you have parents." Cissy said. "But the kids here are really like a family, parents or not. You can rely on us, you know. We'll understand."

"How?!" Gwen's smile disappeared. "The only ones who were in that fire... about to die, was Lukas and Anita, and why the hell would they want to talk about it?!"

"I've been through some pretty bad things in my time." Cissy said. "Sixteen years alone. It's quite an experience."

Gwen still didn't smile.

"What I mean is, try me. I could understand more than you think."

"OK." Gwen sighed. She held out a hand. "Friends?"

"Friends." But friends wasn't what Gwen meant. She knew the real reason Cissy had followed her, a connection neither of them could deny. And it made the smile on her face, real.

"Come on." She said. "Let's get back to the party. I know a great number we can do as a duet.


	10. Day of Recognition

**Sorry for the wait, writer's block and homework and both b*tches.**

 **Guest: Thank you, that's great to hear, as I haven't really been thinking that myself lately. Thanks for the clearup as well :)**

 **The Titan's Shadow: Yeah, that was one of my weaker chapters in my opinion. But I'll try to pick up the pace in future chapters**

 **By the way, I know Mystake is most likely dead, but I mentioned the ninja going to see her in the first chapter, before that episode came out. So this story's going down the road that she's alive and well.**

 _"So, on the road again!" Cole declared as the pair walked down the path underneath the bold skyline. Kai nodded. He didn't really want to talk tonight. He had just left his family behind to seek help from someone who could be dead for all they knew. She WAS pretty old. But the whole situation was shocking and terrible and Kai needed time to brood._

 _Cole seemed to take the hint and shut up for a bit. Until,_

 _"Do you think we should warn people?"_

 _"Huh? About what?"_

 _"The curse, fire brain. Give them time to, erm, prepare."_

 _"For what? We're trying to stop it, but otherwise, there's nothing to prepare for! We're just going to lose everything we ever worked for because we couldn't lay off one snake!"_

 _Cole stopped walking and Kai did too._

 _"Kai, are you... OK?"_

 _"No!" Kai snapped, sitting down, leaning on a tree trunk. "I am going to lose EVERYTHING, Cole! I worked so hard to get Skylor back after I cheated, I got a family going, so did the rest of you! And my sister, and parents, and my FRIENDS! The first time we met, I hated you for catching me when I was half asleep, now I never want to let you out of my sight for the next nine months!" He threw his head into his hands and started sobbing._

 _Cole was shocked. He knew Kai had emotions, of course, but even he wasn't on the verge of a mental breakdown right about now. So he sat next to the fire ninja and just slipped an arm around his back, letting Kai cry out his problems into the palms of his hands. Left him time to think. Personally, Cole wasn't as upset. He had always been quite laid back about things, but all he could think about was his daughter. She would be all alone, again. He didn't want that to happen to her. But what could he do?_

 _He could get off his butt and go find that crazy oni woman._

 _"Come on." He said to Kai. "We won't have to worry any more if we get up and keep moving forward."_

...

Every child's worst nightmare. Parent teacher conference. Teachers found out that your dad actually did your homework for you. Detention. Parents found out that you skipped school and cheated in tests. Grounded.

Except at Airspin High. Mainly because a good percentage of the kids didn't have parents who could come, so they were satisfied with a message from their teacher by phone. Some didn't have parents at all. But some, did have parents who could come into school and check on their kid's progress.

"OK, I will see you there tonight Gwen. No exceptions, no running off. Got it?"

"Yes dad!" Gwen sighed. "I will be by the gate. Now I'm gonna be late!" Gwen grabbed her schoolbag and ran out of the door. Alex smiled as he watched her go. At first, he'd been worried about her mental state after the fire, but she was improving lots. She just needed time to socialise with her friends and that.

Alex was about to wheel himself to his desk, when his phone beeped. It was the hospital. He gasped. Since he didn't have one, and his wife was... unavailable, Alex had put himself down as Jeffry Pheonix's emergency contact. He quickly answered the hospital.

"Hello, this is Alexander Kennedy, is there news of Jeffry Pheonix?"

His face cracked into a smile. "That's wonderful news, I will be there tonight. With his children. Yes, the twins, they'll be pleased to see him, I can deduce."

The rest of the day, Kai pottered around a little, doing some work, but really unable to work properly. When lunch came round, as usual, he made his way to his van. Ever since Jean Red had given him those sandwiches, he had returned there for his lunch every day, hoping to see her working the drive through again. But no, it had always been a nervous looking guy with glasses. The man who had made the sandwiches, but he didn't care about sandwiches. He cared about the woman he had met there. He wanted to see her again. Alex would have gone into the restaurant for a table and hope that Jean was serving, but that would mean she saw him out of the car. Saw his legs and that they didn't work. He had always had a bit of an ego and he didn't want her to be put off because she thought of him as a cripple. All sympathetic. No way!

But by some brilliant luck, it wasn't Colin working the drive through. It was Jean Red, in all her glory. She smiled when she saw him.

"Why hello stranger." She said with a grin. "You enjoy your sandwiches?"

"Much better than the crap I would have ordered. Thank you for that." He returned the smile.

"Really? Because I hear you've taken quite a liking to this place." She gave him and wink as he squirmed a little.

"So, what'll it be? My apologies sir, I don't have any sandwiches today."

"Please, call me Alex."

"OK. But you're going to have to order at some point."

"Mozzarella dippers." Alex said. "Please."

"Sure thing." He handed her a fiver and she handed him a little bag. Alex wanted to say something else, perhaps ask her to dinner, but before he could get the words out, he heard a voice call out from the kitchen.

"Jean, it's your shift at the counter! Get your butt over here!"

Jean sighed. "See you."

"No, Jean, wait-" She stopped and turned to him.

"Yes?"

Alex couldn't believe he was about to ask this, but-

"How would you like to join me for dinner at the weekend? Are you free?"

Jean seemed to consider. Then nodded.

"I have time off on Sunday. But not here?"

"No. Somewhere..." Alex tried to find the right words without insulting her workplace.

"Nice?" Jean offered and they laughed.

"JEAN!"

"Gotta go!" Jean stood up from her stool. She grabbed a wrapper off a ready made burger and scribbled down some digits. She tossed it over to him.

"My number. Call me."

She winked and disappeared.

...

 _As dawn broke overhead, the two ninja were exhausted._

 _"Why didn't we steal an effing car when we were back at civilisation!" Kai sighed, sitting down. "We could be on our way BACK by now!"_

 _"Get up!" Cole commanded. "Sleep is for the weak."_

 _"Then I'm weak." Kai curled up on the ground, using his jacket as a pillow. "Sheesh, it's cold!"_

 _"It's mid winter!" Cole sat down opposite him. "Three hours Kai, then we're up again."_

 _"Make it four." Kai yawned, and dozed off. Cole sighed, but he couldn't get to sleep. Too much on his mind._

 _He hadn't even sad goodbye._

 _Noticing Kai shivering, he built a small campfire and watched the embers dance in the shadow of the trees. For five hours, he sat and watched the flames dance, occasionally changing shape to match the fire ninja's dreams. It seemed he still had powers, even though his second child was on the way._

 _Eventually, Kai sat up, rubbing his eyes._

 _"What time is it?"_

 _"Around lunch time. We should get going."_

 _Kai sighed and noticed the fire. It was well fed and had a pile of sticks next to it._

 _"Cole, when was the last time you slept?"_

 _"Not important."_

 _"Cole!"_

 _Cole sighed._

 _"Last Monday I caught four hours."_

 _"That was three days ago!"_

 _"Earth doesn't sleep." Cole stood. "And I am still an Elemental Master."_

 _"Earth probably sleeps more than any other element. It's fire that's constantly awake until it dies."_

 _"Enough with the metaphors!" Cole help up a hand. "We need to get going."_

 _Kai sighed. "Fine, but we'll talk about this later." He shrugged on his jacket._

 _Cole gave a small smile. "You've changed."_

 _"Huh?" The pair set off in the direction of Mystake's village._

 _"You used to be... annoying. Fire brain, hated tech, big headed. Loved the girls. But since you've married Skylor, you matured." Kai gave a little shrug._

 _"That's what happens when you become a husband. It's not too late for you Cole. I'm sure we can find you a woman."_

 _Cole frowned at the floor. "Kai."_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"I'm going to tell you something, but I want you to promise you won't tell the others."_

 _"Um, OK." Kai gave a nod. "What is it?"_

 _"I've already found someone."_

 _"Really? Who? and why didn't you-"_

 _Cole cut him off. The secret he had been keeping for so long burst out of him._

 _"I've been dating him for about five years now."_

 _"Aww, that's nice, wait. He?"_

 _"Yeah, he." Cole didn't look up from the ground. "I'm gay."_

 _Kai stopped walking and Cole bit his lip nervously._

 _"That's a shock." Kai muttered. Then his face cracked into a smile. "Damn, I owe Nya a fiver now!"_

 _"Wait, what? Nya bet on it?"_

 _"Sure did!" Kai burst out laughing. "Good on you though, but damn, five years! And you didn't think to mention it?"_

 _"Well, I wasn't sure how you'd react." Cole said. "You know I don't talk to my dad anymore?"_

 _"Yeah? Oh, wait, did he-"_

 _"I thought he'd understand." Cole muttered. "I was wrong. That's what put me off telling you guys. I mean, if my own father-"_

 _"Cole." Kai put a hand on his shoulder. "Look at us. We're such a crazy family. Robots, junkyard boy, the son of Ninjago's worst villain. I don't care which gender you like, you'll always be my brother."_

 _Cole sniffed, and hugged Kai._

 _"Thank you."_

 _..._

"Hey dad." Gwen waved as Alex parked and wheeled himself over to his daughter.

"Hey baby girl. Sorry I'm a bit late."

"The later the better." Gwen waved to a few kids who were heading into the dorm block. Alex caught sight of a tall red head waving back.

"Who's that?" He asked. Gwen seemed to catch her breath.

"Cissy. The new girl I told you about." Alex frowned. Something seemed familiar about this girl, something he couldn't quite place...

"Dad?" Gwen was looking at him strangely.

"Oh nothing." He shook his head a little. "Which way then?"

Alex followed Gwen down a corridor to a line of seats outside a classroom, in which a woman and two kids were sat. The girl was scribbling something in a notepad, and the boy was fiddling with the seat on his arm. Gwen sat down next to the boy, and Alex decided to park his chair over the corridor, as there was no room next to his daughter.

He made eye contact with the woman. Something inside of him stopped. He didn't know why. She wasn't all the pretty, nor kind looking, quite expensively dressed, but had the air of a usual tired mother about her.

He didn't know why seeing her shocked him so much.

Gwen struck up a conversation with the boy, and the woman seemed to notice.

"Hey." She said. "You're her father, I'm guessing?"

"Yep. Call me Alex."

"I'm Kelly." She smiled. "My kids are new to this neighbourhood, and my son does talk about his classmates a lot. Thanks for raising a kid who's willing to make them feel so welcome."

"Well, what can I say?" Alex smiled at her. "We have to train up the next generation to be as good as we were." The woman grinned and fist bumped him.

"Ah, hey there twins." A tall, broad shouldered man appeared in the classroom doorway, waving off some other kid and his mum. "And Mrs Thomas, I presume."

"Call me Kelly." She said, standing and dragging Jayden away from his conversation. Nicole stood after, tucking her notebook into her pocket.

"See you then." She waved at Alex, who waved back.

Gwen was confused.

"Was that flirting?"

Alex laughed.

"No, no, I don't think so. Just being nice."

"Like friends?"

Alex considered. It didn't really seem that way either. What was WRONG with him today?! Everyone seemed familiar!

Or was it just...?

Jean...

Alex cleared his throat. "Erm, Gwen. How would you react if I told you something you may not want to hear?"

"Depends." Gwen thought for a second. "Are you gay?"

"Wha- no!"

Gwen laughed.

"OK, had your fun baby girl-"

"DAD! Don't call me that in school!"

"Sorry. But I need to tell you, I asked a woman out on a date today."

Gwen gasped. "What did she say, how'd you meet, who is she, how serious is it, DETAILS!" Fangirl mode: on.

Alex laughed. "She said yes. I met her at the drive through at that crappy diner you like, she's called Jean Red, not that serious at all, and there you go."

Gwen gasped again, but not for reasons her father would understand. She knew Jean Red. She knew who she was.

THIS WAS PROGRESS!


	11. Serpentine Secret

**Hi, sorry, gosh, it's been a while. My apologies for that. But I've had writer's block, a sh*t ton of homework, started GCSEs and all that. So it's been tiring, but here it is, long overdue. I know, I need to sort these things out more often!**

 **Guest: Thanks, the Cole thing is kind of a personal headcannon of mine, or he's just cakesexual, but I appreciate your kind words :)**

 **CHEESEPUFF fg: I wasn't implying he was downright hateful, just a little in denial and confused, like an old person would be. Thanks :)**

"So, you're not mad about this?" Alex asked her nervously.

"Of course not!" Gwen exclaimed. "This is GREAT news, about time!"

"Huh?" Alex just watched his daughter swing her legs in excitement.

"This is BRILLIANT news!" Gwen exclaimed. "When's the date, can I come?"

"No you cannot." Alex said with a laugh, glad that Gwen was responding positively. "And I haven't really discussed details with her yet."

"Friday night is perfect for dates." Gwen told him. "It's like, tradition."

The door opened and Kelly and her twins exited the room, a slight wave from Jayden, and Mr Blacksmith stuck his head around the door.

"Mr Kennedy, Gwen, hi, you want to come in?"

"Sure sure, let's find out what this little brat's been up to?" Alex laughed, and wheeled himself inside.

...

Anita had been having a crap day. It was the day where kids were meant to bring in their parents, be with their parents, have parents. Her mum had dissappeared whne she had been eight years old, and her dad... He may be going the same way. Anita had thought her day would continue to go this poorly, trying to comfort her brother, trying to comfort herself.

Untill Gwen arrived. Bursting with excitment she told them that the hospital had called her dad with great news. So grabbing Lukas by his shirt collar, the girls had dragged him to the car where Alex Kennedy was waiting.

"Well, you must be Anita." He said with a smile. "I don't beliece we've got the chance to know each other." He had a warm and comforting smile and Anita was about to introduce them when Lukas cut through her words.

"Cut the bullcrap and take us to dad." He said rather harshly. Anita bit her lip, but Gwen's dad meerly laughed.

"Yes sir!" He gave a mock salute. "I like you, kid."

The car journey would have been pleasant, but the twins were too tensely wound up with nerves, and Gwen was being tol chatty. Anita could tell Lukas was fascinated by the way the car worked, how Alex was able to drive it when he could't use his legs. But he neglected to ask. Perhaps she would ask for him on the ride home?

And finally, the hospital. Anita had been here many times before, visiting her dad, but it always went the same way. It was like talking to a brick wall instead of a coma patient. As they aproached the room, she tried to believe it would bw different, like Gwen had said, that her dad would be OK...

But only when the door opened and she saw her father's green eyes open and a smile upon his face did she truly believe it.

"Hey, there's my girl." He said with a smile upon his face. "And Lukas too! You just had to keep me waiting this long?"

Anita froze in the doorway, feeling a choking in her throat.

"Dad!" Lukas cried, shoving past her and to his father. Jeffry laughed and tousled his hair.

"Did I miss you two!" He exclaimed, holding out a hand to his daughter. "What, you too old for this?"

Anita sniffed and quickly became the following suit.

Gwen watched happily, and felt her father's hand on her arm.

"Let's give them some privacy." He said, and Gwen nodded in agreement.

...

 _"Lloyd, have you seen the kids?" Hana called from the kitchen. Lloyd replied that he hadn't and carried on what he was doing. Searching. Searching books of magic for anything about a spell that could do what Pythor described. If there were any ways to stop it. Lloyd didn't want to lose his friends, his family, the memories of his father...No, he had to keep hold of all that._

 _Lloyd sighed and shut yet another book. None of it was helpful. Kai and Cole had been gone for two months now. There was little chance they would return. It was all down to him now and he knew it._

 _"Have you discovered anything yet?" Zane's voice cut through Lloyd's troubled train of thought. The shiny nindroid stood with a few books in his arms._

 _"Nope." Lloyd sighed. "Any sign of Cole and Kai?"_

 _"They haven't shown up on my radar at all. This is... odd." He frowned. "But I have found some strange traces of serpentine activity round here."_

 _"Serpentine activity?" Lloyd was on his feet in an instance. "Zane, how long has this been going on?"_

 _"Years." Zane said carefully. "I have been noticing slight traces of serpentines around our team for over a decade. I simply passed it off as a malfunction. But lately, the levels have been rising."_

 _"That's weird." Lloyd muttered. Then he jumped as a thought occurred to him. "I haven't seen the kids all day! Zane, something could be wrong!"_

 _Zane frowned, but nodded. The two hurried out onto the main deck of the bounty. It was perched halfway up a tall, steep mountain, a place Lloyd recognised to be the place where the Constricti Tomb had been hidden._

 _"Do you think the levels are rising because of the tomb?" Lloyd asked nervously. Zane shook his head._

 _"I suggest we split up and look for your children." Lloyd nodded at this suggestion and summoned his elemental dragon. Zane did the same._

 _Lloyd flew upwards, towards the tomb. He knew they were probably just mucking around somewhere, but since there was a serpentine who had laid a curse on their backs and they were near a serpentine tomb. He wanted to find his kids and get them out of any danger they may have found._

 _Speaking of danger, down below, something caught his eye. Lloyd saw what was going on down there, and gasped._

...

Alex had never really considered what Jeffry Pheonix was like as a person. Always viewed him as merely a rival, someone who was always out to get him and vice versa. But now that he thought about it, the guy was rather similar to himself. Kids he loved and wanted to protect. His company was shrivelling up too. A single father. And he had saved Gwen's life. Maybe that was reason he had named himself as the emergency contact for the other man. Or maybe he just... cared?

He gave a small smile as he thought about Jeffry. He had never thought that he cared that much, but he felt something in his gut telling him that this guy was worth the trouble. And old memory... This was getting weird.

The door behind Alex and Gwen opened and Anita and Lukas stepped out, both looking happy.

"Dad says he wants to talk to Mr Kennedy." Anita said. Alex gave a small sigh and a nod to the kids before wheeling himself into the room.

"You're looking well." Was the first thing he said. Jeffry nodded. He did look better. Sure, there were still nasty red burns all over his face, but there were now traces of a smile and he was far less pale.

"You too."

"I haven't been in a coma for the past week and a half!" Alex exclaimed. Jeffry gave an offhand shrug.

"Couldn't leave my kids for too long."

Alex sighed. "You and I, have never got on. We argue over everything, business, women (Jeffry chuckled a little) we're practically Flintheart Glomgold and Scrooge McDuck! But you risked your life to save the thing that matters most to me! You saved my daughter! Why?"

"Why did you put yourself down to be my emergency contact?" Jeffry asked simply. Alex gave a small shrug.

"Because... I didn't want you to get more hurt, I guess. I mean, I don't hate you, I probably should because of previous years of feud. But, you saved Gwen. And that made me realise that I never hated you. You were just a rival and despite all that, I respect you. So..." Alex wheeled himself closer and held out a hand. "Let's stop this rivalry. Friends?"

Jeffry smiled at him. "That was quite a speech Kennedy." He took his hand. "I agree with every word though."

The two men both felt a small twinge of recognition fly between them, and a ghost of a memory flashed across their minds.

 _No. There's only one green ninja. This is your fight._

The pair broke the handshake and the memory disappeared as quickly as it had came.

"So, what are you doing on Friday?" Jeffry asked. "I could be discharged by then, and I think we should do something with the kids."

"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"

"I've been waiting for you guys to show up since nine this morning, it leaves a lot of time on your hands."

"Well, perhaps not this weekend, or not immediately." Alex said with a laugh. "I have a date to arrange."

He kind of regretted saying this, as Jeffry laughed a little.

"Oh really? About time, I always thought you were a bit of a loner." Alex scowled. "So, who's the lady?" He asked with a grin.

"Her name's Jean, she's a waitress at that crappy little diner." Alex told him.

"So I guess you two met in the diner?"

"Yeah, well, the drive through actually." Alex said. "I asked her this morning."

Jeffry gave a small frown.

"So, you mean you've only seen her while you're in your car?"

"Yeah."

"So she hasn't seen you... when you're not sat down?"

"I'm always sat- oh." Alex realised. "I guess she doesn't know."

He looked a little worried.

"She won't care." Jeffry said quickly. "Plenty of disabled guys have girlfriends, you know, Stephen Hawking... that athlete guy..." Alex laughed as he tried to think of a a good example.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." He said. Jeffry looked like he was about to say something else, but there came a knock on the door.

"Dad, are you two done?" Anita's voice called. "We were going to get dinner from the vending machine."

Jeffry motioned for the kids to come in.

"We should get going." Alex said, motioning to Gwen.

Gwen nodded. "See you tomorrow guys."

Jeffry waved to the pair as they disappeared, and turned to his kids. He was glad to have his family back now, and Alex could be a neat new person to have in his life.

But no one mattered more to him than his kids.

...

 _Serpentine. And a kid amongst them. A growl erupted in Lloyd's throat._

 _Nothing mattered to him more than his kids._

 _The dragon landed in the middle of the circle, and Lloyd leapt a great leap, off the dragon's back and landed right on top of a Hypobrai. He knocked his face into the dirt and drew his sword._

 _"Get away from my son!" He yelled, brandishing his weapon with that ancient skill that never quite left him. Brent, who was about to be seized by a fearsome looking venomari, gave a little cry of surprise._

 _"Dad, what's happening, I don't know where Lukas and Anita are, I-"_

 _Lloyd held up a hand._

 _"Let him go." He snapped to the venomari._

 _"Why?" The snake sneered, his yellow eyes glinting. "We're just taking back what is ours."_

 _"Yours?" Lloyd scoffed, and darted forwards, pressing his blade to the snake's neck. "That is MY kid!"_

 _"And your wife's!" The snake said with a grin. "And I gather she hasn't told you her little 'secret'."_

 _Lloyd's grip on the blade stiffened. "What secret?" He said in a voice as stiff as his grip. The venomari grinned._

 _"Why don't you see for yourself?" The snake sneered and grabbed the eight year old by his shirt collar, yanking it down. Lloyd went to rip the scaly hand away, but stopped when he saw Brent's neck._

 _A few scale-like bumps resided there, paler than the rest of his neck._

 _"Yeah, a birthmark." Lloyd snapped. "I've seen it before."_

 _The venomari laughed, as did the other snakes around them._

 _"Birthmark? Those are scales, early scales, but still scales! When he's a lot older, they will grow and he'll have a little bumpy patch there. Shouldn't draw too much attention, but it's clear proof that," The snake's eyes narrowed. "He's one of us. As are his siblings."_

 _"How?" Lloyd demanded, pressing his sword closer into the serpentine's neck. "How did you do this?!"_

 _"We didn't do anything." The venomari snapped, jerking away from the sword. "If you're so desperate for answers, as your wife!" He smiled nastily. "Come on, move out serpentine!" He commanded, and the snakes backed away from the scene, leaving Lloyd gripping his son with a petrified hand._

 _"Dad?" Brent asked in a small voice. "What were they talking about, about scales and..."_

 _"It's OK." Lloyd loosened the grip on Brent's shirt collar. "I'll just... I'll figure this out somehow. Come on, let's find-"_

 _A large, white dragon descended from the sky, atop of it, Zane and the twins._

 _"Lloyd!" Zane cried, leaping off the dragon as it disappeared. "What's going on, they were surrounded by snakes, saying crazy stiff about them having scales..."_

 _"Come on." Lloyd let go of Brent completely. "Let's go back to the bounty. I think I need to talk to their mother."_

 _The group arrived back at the ship. Lloyd requested the kids to go to their rooms and Zane to go back to the library. He wanted to talk to Hana alone._

 _"Hana." He said in a stiff voice. She looked up._

 _"Lloyd?"_

 _"I found the kids."_

 _"Oh good." She smiled. "Where were they." She picked up a bowl to put away in a cupboard._

 _"Surrounded by serpentine claiming that they were also snakes and that you have something important to tell me."_

 _Hana dropped the bowl._

 _Lloyd sighed._

 _"The kids were in danger today, Hana." Lloyd said through clenched teeth. "I just want to know the truth."_

 _Hana turned around, a sigh on her face._

 _"I'm half serpentine." She confessed._

 _If Lloyd had been holding a bowl, he would have dropped it._

 _"What?"_

 _"I'm half serpentine." She repeated. "A Hypobrai and a human got together and... I'm the product."_

 _Lloyd leant against a wall._

 _"So how come you look... normal?"_

 _"A spell. Mystake gave me one when I first wanted to learn about human life. It also hid my trace from other serpentine. But the spell if wearing off and that's how they found me, found the kids. And no one's heard from Mystake, I don't know what to do!"_

 _She leant against the opposite wall._

 _Lloyd thought back to when they'd first met on the streets of Ninjago City. One look, he'd been intrigued. Captivated. Hypnotised?_

 _"I'll help you." He muttered._

 _"What?"_

 _"I'll help you make a new spell. Do you know what was in it?"_

 _Hana gave a small, worried smile. "Would you really do that?"_

 _"Of course. You're my wife, mother of my kids. I'll ask Zane for help, he'll know what to do."_

 _Hana sniffed and nodded, coming over to Lloyd and hugging him._

 _"Thank you." She whispered. "Not just for this. For everything."_


	12. Dark (Knight) Side

**The Titan's Shadow: I like doing that :) Well, the same way that any interspecies cartoon couple would. It all depends on if you think the serpentine wear clothes or not, I suppose. Yeah, I'm giving them tiny flashbacks here and there to help towards the grand finale! :) Thanks.**

 **Kicking off with a flashback, this goes all the way back to before Pythor crashed Kai's party.**

 _Jay yawned and ran a sleepy hand through his hair. Kai's party was that night and Jay was probably going to be up drinking all night, so he would have liked to have a nice little afternoon nap. Unfortunately, he was on duty, watching that big old map for villainous activity. Not that much happened these days, what with Garmadon in jail, the Oni defeated and Master Wu travelling the land, taking care of small problems here and there. Not much need for a ninja, other than petty crime._

 _Just as Jay's eyes began to blink shut, a harsh beeping sound hit his ears. Jay jumped about a foot in the air and fell off his chair._

 _"OK, OK, I got it!" He grumbled, and pressed the button to activate the report. A little light blinked on the map, Ninjago City Borg Store. A picture of a few serpentine showed up, looting the place, pointing weapons at hostages. They weren't fully grown though, they seemed little older than teenagers._

 _Jay sighed, but teen snakes or not, this needed to be dealt with. "Come on then." He got up, stretched and ran out onto the deck, summoning his dragon. The flight to the shop took about five minutes, as Jay's dragon was almost as fast as lightning. He touched down at the shop while the snakes were still inside. Pulling down his mask, the blue ninja got to work._

 _"Release the hostages!" He yelled, skidding into the shop. "Serpentine were a problem, like, five years ago. You're old news, all of you, go back to your parents."_

 _The serpentine who appeared to be in charge was a Hypnobrai, wearing a sports hoodie. He held a long blade in his hands._

 _"I think you mean NINJA are old news, pyjama man!" He laughed. "Seriously, you can't keep up this attire forever. Get lost and let the reptiles rule the surface!"_

 _"You rule the sewers." Jay brandished a pair of nunchucks. "Do NOT make me tell you twice!"_

 _One of the other serpentine, a Constricti, hurled his knife at Jay's head. Fortunately, his lightning fast reflexes saved him in time._

 _"OK, play time's over!" Jay snapped. "Ninja GO!" He leapt into a spinjitzu vortex, taking down the serpentine one by one. Finally, Jay stopped spinning and advanced on the Hypnobrai._

 _"You'd better come quietly." He snapped. The teen scowled._

 _"My father will have your head for this!" He yelled, holding the knife, trembling with a mix of fear and anger._

 _"Will he now?" A hissing voice came from the door. Jay turned to see Scales stood there in all his scaly glory. And he did not look pleased._

 _"Let me get this straight." Scales slithered past Jay towards Scales Jr, who was now visibly quaking in fear. "I send you to buy flowers for your mother's birthday and you decide to destroy a surface shop, injure humans and gain the attention of the ninja!"_

 _"Erm..." Scales Jr attempted to hide the knife behind his back. Scales seized his son's arm and began dragging him out of the shop._

 _"No need for you to get involved, ninja." He called to Jay. "What I have in store for this one is worse than prison!"_

 _Jay laughed. "OK Scales, I'll leave it to you!"_

 _"You won't be laughing for long!" Scales Jr yelled, struggling against his father's hold. "When you see what Lord Pythor has in store for you! Then I will be the one to laugh!"_

 _"Whatever!" Jay called, going over to the tied up prisoners. "Have fun in the sewers, snakey boy!"_

...

"Have fun on your date!" Gwen teased as she headed out of the door. Alex rolled his eyes.

"Have fun on yours, baby girl." He grinned. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"It's not a date, it's a group of friends going to the movies!" She argued.

"With Jason!"

"For the record, he likes me, not the other way round!" Alex rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say. Have a nice time." He waved her off from the door, then set to making himself ready for the date. Sure, it wasn't for another two hours, but one could never prepare too soon. Sure, he was a little nervous about how Jean would react to finding out he was handicapped, but that wouldn't effect things, would it? He'd only met Jean twice, how much did he actually know about her?

For some reason, it felt like he knew loads.

Meanwhile, Gwen was making her usual pit stop at the Borg Steakhouse, picking up some chips and things for her friends. It was going to be her, Cissy, Tori, Jason, Nicole and Jayden, not really a date as her father had suggested, but perhaps Jason thought so? Gwen wasn't entirely sure how she felt about him, it was a complicated mess that she wasn't willing to dive into.

Her father dating her mother though? Now that was a mess she wanted to be a part of.

Gwen was relived to see Jean mopping the floor, as per usual. She placed her order with Pixie, then, a little nervously, headed over to her mother.

"Erm, hi!" Gwen said nervously. Jean gave her a strange look. "You don't really know me, but are you Jean Red? My dad's date?"

Jean's face cracked into a smile. "Oh, you must be Gwen! I've heard about you."

"From dad?"

"Well, sort of." Jean leant on the mop. "I'm actually kind of nervous about tonight, I don't know a lot about your dad that I haven't read in papers and stuff like that."

"Well," Gwen said slowly, treading gently around her words. "How much do you know about him?"

Jean sighed. "He likes sandwiches, and... oh gosh we rushed into this!"

Gwen laughed a little. Jean seemed alright. Gwen didn't know a lot about her mother, but she seemed like the cool mum you could talk boys and make up with. Not that Gwen had a lot of experience with either.

"I've actually never seen him out of his car." Jean admitted. "Should I wear heels or not, is he tall?"

Gwen swallowed. Shit, she didn't know.

"Oh, erm... you don't know, do you?" She muttered nervously.

"Know what?"

"Hey kid, order's up!" Pixie called from the counter. At the same time, Gwen's watch beeped. She was gonna be late to meet her friends at the cinema.

"My dad's in a wheelchair." Gwen confessed, then grabbed her chips and dashed out of the restaurant, leaving Jean alone with this new information.

...

 _"When you see what Lord Pythor has in store..."_

 _Jay sighed, pacing up and down in front of the map. Something about Scales Jr's statement had stuck with him. Since when was Pythor a Lord? Sure, it was a title that could be randomly given, but who would have given it? Pythor was probably just trying to stir up trouble for the ninja again, but recruiting younger snakes? That didn't sound like Pythor. Was the kid trying to scare him? If so, it was working._

 _Either way, he needed more information. Jay checked his watch. He still had a few hours before Kai's party. Sure, he was meant to be on duty and chasing random leads for his own satisfaction didn't exactly count. But he needed to know._

 _"Thanks for letting me do this Scales." Jay said with a smile. "Just need to check up on some loose ends, you know, ninja business."_

 _"Whatever." The serpentine rolled his eyes. "Don't be afraid to be hard on him." Both ninja and snake entered the room. Scales Jr was sat down, arms folded. He stared stubbornly at Jay with an attitude that reminded Jay all too much of the boy's father._

 _"Oh look, blue pyjama man's back. What a surprise." He muttered sarcastically. Scales glowered._

 _"You are to treat the ninja with respect, Junior!" Scales Jr rolled his eyes._

 _"Whatever."_

 _Jay cleared his throat. "Back at the shop. You said something about your boss. Lord Pythor, I believe you called him? Info. Now."_

 _Scales Jr sighed. "You know he's gonna kill me when he finds out about this. But he'll kill me anyway when he finds out how you sabotaged the mission, and mum's gonna kill me when she gets home, so I've got nothing to lose."_

 _"I said info, not your life story." Jay tapped his foot impatiently._

 _"Fine. Lord Pythor is the last of the annacondrai tribe, and he hates the surface world, for some reason."_

 _"I know. We have history."_

 _"So he's been lurking around the tunnels, getting us kids to do little raids to scare the surface dwellers. That's just the first stage of his brilliant plan." At this point, Scales Jr was on his feet, pacing like an evil genius, gesturing wildly._

 _"And what's stage two?" Jay asked curiously. Scales Jr shrugged._

 _"I don't know."_

 _Jay facepalmed. Scales rolled his eyes._

 _"What? He said he'd tell us as we went along incase something like THIS happened." Scales Jr pointed at Jay. Jay sighed._

 _"At least tell me where I can find him."_

 _"I can't."_

 _"JUNIOR!" Scales snarled._

 _"No, I literally can't. He used a spell that stopped us from mentioning it, I can't..." Scales Jr trailed off. Then a sly smile came to his face._

 _"But it doesn't stop me from drawing a map."_

 _..._

"You're late, as per usual." Tori said with a smirk as Gwen arrived, chips in hand.

"Sorry, I ran into my dad's date and took the chance to find out some stuff about her." Gwen explained, offering the chip bag to the other two.

"So, are you getting an evil stepmother?" Jason asked with a smirk. Gwen shook her head.

"No, she's actually pretty nice. I think they're going to have a nice time tonight."

"So are we!" Cissy declared, returning from the popcorn stand with her arms full of the stuff. "Hey Gwen. Decided on what we're watching yet?"

"I think the twins are fighting it out." Jason gestured to Nicole and Jayden, who were arguing over by a string of movie posters. The group drew closer to listen.

"But Turtle Time is so BAD!" Nicole snapped. "I mean, have you seen the trailer?"

"Yes, many times."

"And have you seen the crappy CGI?" Nicole demanded. "I mean, come on, I'm surprised it made it off the editing room floor! Now Batman! The special effects are to be worshiped! Like when the joker blew up the two boats? Oh man, it was like we were there!"

"I think I fell asleep in that movie..." Jayden muttered.

"And furthermore," Nicole folded her arms. "Only you want to see Turtle Time. And I don't mean just in the group. I mean in the whole bloody cinema!"

"It's just having a bad night." Jayden stroked the poster lovingly.

"Yeah, like batman in the Dark Knight two opening scene." Nicole muttered. Jayden stumbled back in mock agony with the force of her roasting.

"Whoa, I've never heard anyone reference Batman so savagely!" Jason exclaimed, making Nicole jump. "And accurate too! I wouldn't have pulled that one up! You're got a dark knight side, Nic!"

"Whoa, erm, really? No, I don't think-"

"Secret's out sis." Jayden said with a grin. "Man, if you think THAT'S nerdy, you should see her room. She painted a massive batman insignia on the walls the moment we-" Nicole covered his mouth with her hand.

"Shut up Jayden!" She hissed.

"Thought you said your room was pink." Cissy said. Nicole sighed.

"It's not, he's right, I did immediately paint that. It's black in there."

"So, why lie?" Tori asked.

"Cos she used to get bullied merciless by stereotypical mean girls before we moved for being a nerdy little tomboy." Jayden cut in. "Having someone like moi," He gestured at himself. "As a brother obviously doesn't help, but she's trying to avoid history repeating itself." His attention then flitted back to the Turtle Time poster and he began snapping photos on his phone. Nicole sighed.

"Yeah, he's right. For once."

"No need to be ashamed." Gwen put an arm around her shoulders. "We're all weirdos in this town. Including the kids. No need to fake it." Nicole smiled and gave her a hug.

"It's settled." Jason declared. "We're seeing the new Batman. Sorry Jayden."

"You say my name?"

"Never mind."

...

 _Squinting closely at the map, Jay tracked his way through the murky sewage tunnels. It was dark and smelly down here and Kai's party was in an hour. Man, this better be worth it._

 _Turning a corner, Jay saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Squinting, he moved forwards into a brightly lit cavern. After the few seconds it took to adjust to the light, Jay's eyes widened at what he saw._

 _A large corkboard, covered in pictures of the ninja and little handwritten notes. Vials of strange plants. Jars of unlabelled powder. Tanks of strange wriggling creatures. Tanks of strange coloured eggs. Tea lights everywhere. Admittedly, it did look a little like drug dungeon, but that was the last thing on Jay's mind right now. This was obviously a room full of Pythor's evil plans._

 _"When did he even take these..." Jay muttered, looking at the ninja's snapshots._

 _"Oh, you'd be surprised, Jay." Jay jumped and whirled around. There was Pythor, still scaly and white, smiling evilly. "But one must have his targets within sight if one is to channel their hatred into a decent revenge plan."_

 _Jay brandished his nunchucks, pulling up his hood. "Give it up Pythor! I've got you now!"_

 _"Oh please." Pythor rolled his eyes. "You think I'd let my minions run around the surface, causing trouble without a few little mind control spells." Jay gasped._

 _"You were controlling him?"_

 _"Of course. I could have taken you down back at the shop, but I decided to let you come to me!" He laughed. "And now I am going to use my newly found magical powers to end you!"_

 _"Oh yeah? Well end THIS!" Jay yelled, shooting a blast of lightning. Pythor dodged and it set fire to the far wall, spreading quickly and igniting the entire room, blocking Jay's exit._

 _Pythor laughed, the perfect image of a deranged supervillain. "Did you think it would be that easy? After I found this abandoned old dungeon of magic, I discovered that I'd been going about my revenge plan all wrong!" He advanced on Jay, who took a few steps back, searching desperately for a way out. "I needed a greater weapon, I needed a magic to match your elemental powers, strength to match your strength. Oh yes, Jay, I finally have matched your power. Those snakes were just a lure. The real plan starts NOW!" Pythor raised a fist, and it began to glow with a purple flame. Jay let out a yell and ducked as a bolt of purple flame headed his way. The flame hit one of the tanks filled with eggs behind him, and it exploded, bits of yolk flying everywhere._

 _"No no NO!" Pythor screamed, staring wildly at the exploded tank. "My ARMY! My family!"_

 _Jay laughed. "Those are your eggs, I suppose? No, you ate the last generation of annacondrai, so lunch?"_

 _Pythor whirled around, a blinding fury in his eyes. "They were my LAST SHOT at an army!"_

 _Jay shot a bolt of lightning at the other tank, the one with the live baby snakes in it. They were killed instantly._

 _"Oops." He said with a small smile. "Tough luck, Chumsworth."_

 _Pythor growled and launched himself at Jay, but was immediately met with a spinjitzu vortex, sending him flying across the room into the fire, which didn't have an effect._

 _"Curse you Jay Walker!" He screamed. "You will PAY FOR THIS in BLOOD!"_

 _Jay blew him a kiss, and ran straight through the flames. Boy was he late for that party!_

 **And there you have it, the reason why Pythor is so bent on revenge on Jay.**


	13. Mr Blue's Locker

**I know, I know, I got a lot of batman verse stuff wrong last chapter, but this is kind of an AU because there isn't a place called Airspin near London so... this is an AU of the batman films?**

 **Guest: I liked writing that bit, Jay's always gotta be funny! :) I wouldn't abandon this story! Well, not for long anyway. Thanks :)**

 **CHEESEPUFF fg: I know, my knowledge of batman sucks, but glad you cleared that up :)**

 **And another Jay/Mr Blue chapter :)**

Lines. Sticky Notes. Newspaper clippings. Jay groaned, rubbing his temples. He had been staring at this board for days and no ideas had come up to help him with his predicament. Nya was stuck being Pythor's wife. Zane was stuck in a fat organic body, he was stuck with nothing to do about it.

Jay took a few steps back, as if a little distance would help solve his problems. It didn't.

"Urgh!" Jay sat on his office desk, taking a sip of his drink. No new ideas. And this was all his fault too! He had made Pythor so vengeful when he cast the curse, he hadn't properly disposed of all that magic. And what he did after Nya was taken...

"Stupid stinking past self." Jay muttered, glaring at the portrait of Nya that had been placed in his office before he regained his memories. Jay hadn't removed it since, but he considered it now. It would spare him the pain of having to see it every day and be reminded.

Jay was about to take another sip of his drink when he heard the usual pounding at the door of some unruly, impatient customer.

"Go away, I'm not open!" He yelled impatiently.

"Oh come on!" Jay cringed at the sound of Kai's daughter's voice. "My dad needs something out of his locker."

"What about his date?" Jay called.

"Oh that went well. That's actually why he needs- Oh can you just let me in already?"

Jay sighed, but he knew Gwen was just as impatient as her father. He quickly folded up his bulletin board and went over to open the door.

"Thanks." Gwen gave him a nod as she passed. "Can I get a drink?"

"For one fifty five you can." Jay rummaged in some of the drawers, looking for Kai, or as it was in this place, Alex Kennedy's key.

"What's this?" Gwen gestured to the bulletin board. Jay froze.

"Nothing important." He said quickly, grasping the key. "Catch!" He tossed the key, but Gwen was still distracted by the board and ducked away with a yelp. The key hit the board and knocked it to the ground, spilling it's contents across the floor. Jay gasped and dashed forwards to clean it up before Gwen saw it. All sorts of labelled photos, elemental powers listed, a couple of drawings of the ninjas old weapons and suits, all sorts of stuff that would prove the rumours true that the old storage man was crazy.

Gwen's eyes widened as she glimpsed a couple of the photos and notes. "What is this stuff?" She exclaimed, her eyes skimming over a small note that described the battle with the overlord. "Garmadon possessed, green ninja's true potential..."

"Just a few little plans for a graphic novel, I use real people for inspiration, that's all." Jay laughed, grabbing the notes from under her nose. "Now here's the key and-"

Gwen picked up a photo of her father. Across his torso was scrawled in marker pen: _Kai, Master of Fire._ Gwen turned to Jay, who was squirming internally with nerves.

"You know too?!" She gasped.

...

 _"Jay, we will find Nya, but right now we have to focus on breaking this curse and bringing Pythor to justice." Zane put a hand on Jay's shoulder. "Now come on, the others are expecting us."_

 _Jay groaned and stood up._

 _"I'm too tired."_

 _Zane sent out a signal that activated the coffee machine._

 _"There you go. Now hurry up Jay. Nya wouldn't want you to let down your friends like this." He gave Jay a little smile and went out the door. Jay poured himself a cup and sighed a little. Zane said that like Nya was dead._

 _Jay quickly joined Zane and the two headed away from the bounty on foot, a short walk to Kai's house._

 _"We've searched the sewers," Skylor pointed to a map. "Here and here. All that's left is here and-"_

 _"That's where the serpentine live." Jay said quickly. "They'd sooner kill Pythor than help him."_

 _Skylor nodded and crossed that region out. Jay breathed a sigh of relief. If anyone was going back to that little dungeon of magic, it would be him._

 _"So we can search these areas this afternoon." Skylor gestured._

 _"Are you sure you ought to go?" Lloyd asked. "You know, with-" He gestured to the small bump that rose from under her shirt. Skylor frowned, folding her arms._

 _"I'll be fine. I've been training to fight in all conditions since I was eight years old. I think I can handle a three month pregnancy."_

 _"Even so, it would be safer for your child if-" Skylor glared at Zane. "OK, you can come."_

 _"Thank you." Skylor regained her iron grip of control again. "We should travel in small teams. Lloyd and Hana. Zane and PIXAL. Jay and... myself, I guess." Jay gave a small nod, still staring at the ground. At least Skylor had remembered not to say it in time."_

...

Jay dropped his notes in shock.

"You know too?!" He echoed. "But how, wait, it worked? Of course!" A smile cracked across his face. Gwen scrambled forwards and picked up some more of the stuff.

"Whoa, ninja gi's, elemental BLADES! So many robots..."

"Those are actually nindroids." Jay pulled down the door to his office and then knelt down next to Gwen, who was tapping her fingers in excitement.

"There must be libraries full here! You know the counterpart of everyone! My dad, Jeffry Pheonix... whoa!" She grinned at Jeffry's photo. "Wait, a family tree! MY family tree! Two elemental masters! And..." Gwen's eyes widened. "Cissy Smith! She really is my sister, I, this is proof!" She clutched the notepaper tightly. "I've got to-" Jay tugged it out of her hands, forcing her to look at him.

"This is top secret stuff." He said firmly. "If any of it should get into the wrong hands... this has got to be a secret, OK?"

Gwen nodded. "I can do that." She said with a smile. "But how did you get all this info? Were you a reporter? Some kind of president of the ninja fan club?"

"How did you find out about Ninjago?" Jay ignored her question. "How come you know? You can't have memories like I do, you were a toddler at the time."

"I erm... I got these crazy dreams." Gwen's eyes swept over the photos, not meeting Jay's. "Dreams about snake people, spies, some kind of elemental tournament. At first I thought they were just dreams, but they became consistent, every single night. So I started to wander around a bit in this dream scape until I came across some kind of library on a floating ship."

"Of course!" Jay slapped his forehead. "Honestly, that was my first ever spell, I don't know how it worked, but it did!"

"What spell?"

"Oh, erm." Jay looked cautiously towards the door. "Before the curse was activated, I, erm managed to cast a spell that would guarantee you the memories of your mother so you could explore Ninjago in your sleep." He smiled. "It was the least I could do."

"Why?" Gwen frowned. Jay cleared his throat hastily.

"Oh that doesn't matter." Gwen turned her attention back to the photos of the townspeople.

"So who are you then? Some kind of wizard?"

Jay laughed.

"Not exactly." He reached his lightning bolt necklace and flipped it open, revealing a hidden compartment in which a small photo was rolled up. Jay kept it on his person at all times, but now he handed it to Gwen.

"Official group photo of the ninja." He said. "Taken a year before Master Wu got lost in time."

Gwen examined the photo and gasped when she saw her father. "There's dad! Oh, and Lukas and Anita's dad too!"

"They were best friends." Jay said with a smile. "Kai was best man at Lloyd's wedding."

"Oh man!" Gwen looked over the rest of the ninja. "Cool, a robot and... is that my teacher! And, whoa Nicole and Jayden's mum and..." She gasped and looked up. "You were a ninja!"

"The blue ninja." Jay declared. "The first one to learn spinjitzu and wielder of the legendary golden nunchucks." Gwen's mouth dropped open.

"Whoa! You certainly don't look like it!"

Jay's smile dropped. Then an idea came to him.

"You know what, I think it's time I showed someone what's in MY locker."

...

 _"Should we check down here?" Skylor gestured to a small, murky tunnel that lead off to the west. Jay checked the map again."_

 _"That way leads down towards the serpentine. We shouldn't- what are you doing!"_

 _"Checking the tunnel. Pythor may have evaded the serpentine. We should have a look down there." Skylor continued inching her way along the slim tunnel_

 _"Oh Lloyd will probably have looked down there already." Jay was sweating with nerves. He didn't want Skylor to run into Pythor. One, because Pythor would show no restraint in hurting her baby, and two, he may reveal to Skylor why Jay had been late to the party and why Nya had been taken. How it was all his fault._

 _"Better safe than sorry." Skylor continued down the tunnel, beckoning to Jay, who gave a nervous little sigh and hurried after her._

 _"How long is this tunnel anyway?" Skylor wondered aloud when they had been travelling for over five minutes."_

 _"How should I know, never been here before." Jay said worriedly. Skylor shot him a frown and kept walking._

 _"We should probably be searching our assigned tunnels, you know." Jay said quickly. "Pythor could be in any one of them."_

 _"He could also be down here." Skylor snapped. She was getting increasingly annoyed with her teammate and Jay knew it. But he couldn't give up._

 _"What time is it anyway? We should really be getting back."_

 _Skylor snapped and rounded on him._

 _"What is your issue today, Jay Walker?!" She demanded. "I know you're in a bad place emotionally since Nya got taken, but you're so reluctant to search, anyone would think you were working for Pythor!" Jay gasped in shock._

 _"How dare you-"_

 _"What, do the serpentine have some sort of grudge against you? Is this tunnel where your parents are hiding your birthday gift? Is Kai down here? Spill!" She poked him hard in the chest. Jay scrambled to think of an excuse that wouldn't paint him in a bad light._

 _"It's because he was too scared to fine ME!" Skylor jumped and turned around. Unknown to either of them, a certain snake had slithered up through the dark.'_

 _"Run!" Jay gasped, dashing past Skylor to protect her. "It's me he wants!"_

 _"Jay, what-" Skylor stumbled back._

 _"Get away from her!" Jay snarled. "I won't let you do to Kai what you did to me!"_

 _"What could I possibly do to Kai that would hurt him anymore than he is now?" Pythor asked in a sickly sweet voice. Skylor gasped._

 _"You have Kai? Give him BACK!" She leapt at Pythor, pummelling a fast and hard round of punches and kicks all over his face and torso. Pythor growled in pain and seized her by the ankle with his tail, dangling her upsidown. He raised a fist, his eyes flashing anger._

 _"Not the stomach!" Jay cried, and launched himself at Pythor, blade in hand. He stabbed the snake hard in the shoulder, causing him to drop Skylor to the ground._

 _"You are the bane of my existence!" Pythor roared, grabbing Jay by the neck and hurling him at the wall. Jay hit it with a smack and collapsed to the ground, rubbing his head._

 _"Run Skylor!" He cried, as Pythor advanced on him. That was the last thing he saw before he blacked out._

...

Jay grunted as he heaved the heavy door up, revealing the contents of his own locker, which he hadn't opened in years.

"Sure is dusty in here!" Gwen exclaimed, taking a step inside. "Good thing I'm not asthmatic."

"Well," Jay struggled to fix the door to the roof to stop it from sliding down and cutting him in half. "As the child of two people who can wield the element of fire, I'd say your chances of being asthmatic are practically nil." He managed to fix the door and stepped inside, turning on the light and letting the door slide shut behind them.

"Whoa!" Gwen exclaimed. "Look at this stuff!"

"That's all I've been doing for the past sixteen years."

Gwen marvelled at weapons, nunchucks, swords, a scythe or two tucked away behind rows of metal shelving. These shelves were filled with old boxes and scrolls. Gwen picked one up and opened it. It was written in a script she had seen before in her dreams, but couldn't understand.

"That's written in ninjagian." Jay gave a faint smile. "I haven't been in here in ages. I should. My ninjagian's a little rusty."

"And it's your home language!" Gwen exclaimed. "What does it say?"

"Oh it's just some old historical text." Jay rolled it up and put it back. "This here is only a small portion of what's in Ninjago city's national library. None of it's particularly interesting. The really interesting stuff is at the back." He gestured to the far end of the locker where the light from the bulb didn't quite reach. Gwen picked up a stray torch and turned it on.

"Whoa!" She grinned, looking over the contents. Big, pristine scrolls all laid out on a smooth wooden bench. A dusty glass case. Two old, humanoid robots, side by side."

"Wow, the robot from the picture!" Gwen exclaimed, going over to Zane's disused metal body. "Can I turn him on, what-"

"Don't touch that!" Jay snapped. Gwen jumped.

"Sorry." Jay sighed. "But Zane's no longer in there. His mind has been un-digitalised and is now in the body of some overweight engineer who doesn't remember a thing about his old life or friends or girlfriend, or body!" He looked sadly at the robot. "This used to be in his locker, but I moved it in here. I don't want him to see it and get freaked out."

Gwen looked at the robots. "I'm sorry." She said. "This must be harder on you than it is on me, but... don't you think him seeing his old body might be a good idea?" Jay frowned. "I mean, it could jog his memory. Help break the curse. Don't you want this curse broken?"

"Of course I do!" Jay snapped. "But we have to be careful. If Mr Thomas catches on, we're dead."

"What's he got to do with anything?" Gwen asked curiously. Jay gestured to one of the scrolls. Gwen opened it. She didn't understand the text, but could see the picture. It was a large, purple snake, holding a blade.

"What's that?"

"That, is an annacondrai general. Very powerful serpentine warriors, a big threat to Ninjago when in the serpentine wars. Fortunately, only one of them still exists. His name is Pythor and he is responsible for the curse. Here, he goes by the name of Mr Thomas."

"I hate that guy. Sleezy git." Gwen glared at the picture. "Guess dad was right. He really is a snake." Jay gave a feeble laugh.

"You know, if jogging people's memories is the way to go about this, I may have an idea." He gestured to the glass cabinet.

"What's in there?" Gwen asked, getting closer.

"Why don't you have a look for yourself." Jay said with a grin. Gwen went over to the cabinet and rubbed some of the dust off. She gasped when she saw what was inside.

...

 _Jay woke up on cold hard concrete with a throbbing pain in his head. "Urgh..." He groaned. "Skylor... Nya."_

 _"No, just me." Jay lifted his head to see Pythor standing above him, looking angry."_

 _"What do you want?" Jay muttered, shifting himself into a sitting up position._

 _"As you said before, I want you." Pythor glowered. "Get up."_

 _"Why should I?"_

 _"Because if you don't-" Pythor gave an evil looking grin. "You can say goodbye to Kai's little girlfriend here-" He gestured towards the left. Jay looked up to see that they were in the little dungeon of magic that Jay had destroyed three months ago. Jay looked to the left and saw a sort of screen, separating a small portion of the dungeon from the rest. There was Skylor, banging on the glass and shouting._

 _"Skylor!" Jay cried, attempting to get up and run to her, but couldn't._

 _"Don't worry." Pythor snapped. "She can't see or hear us. She won't see how you're going to help me!"_

 _"I'd never help you, you villain!" Jay snarled, standing on shaky legs. "Now let us go!"_

 _"Really?" Pythor grinned. "You'd never help me cast the curse? After how you can't wait to forget about Kai and Cole's disappearance. The guilt over how you lost Nya?" Jay looked at the ground._

 _"I'll find a way, no matter what." Pythor looked down at the pitiful ninja before him. "You can just help me activate the curse and it will all be over sooner."_

 _Jay looked at the ground. And sighed._

 _"OK."_

 _So they got to work. Pythor with the magic and a curse in a jar that he had created months ago. Jay provided his elemental power and engineering skills to fix little instruments that had previously been broken. He hoped Pythor spoke the truth and that Skylor couldn't see what they were doing. He hated that he was betraying his ninja ideals and working with the enemy, but what could he do? As Pythor had said, the curse was inevitable. This would just help the time pass by quicker._

 _"And one final component that guarantees the memory loss." Pythor declared. "I think you'll find that one important, don't you?"_

 _Jay didn't respond._

 _"Over there, a high shelf. Go get it."_

 _"At your beck and call." Jay said glumly. He went over to the shelf filled with bottles. They were all labelled and Jay found, with interest, a few extra powders and potions all to do with the curse. One was labelled Flashbacks. Another, nightmares. Memory transfer, memory wipe, resemblance. Jay grinned as an idea came to mind._

 _"Hurry up!" Pythor snapped. Jay finished mixing the powders and gave them a zap to combine them. He went back over to the snake and handed him the jar. Pythor frowned._

 _"This is the wrong colour." He snapped._

 _"Do I look like I care?" Jay snapped back. "It's got the right label, must just be the lighting." Pythor was still frowning when he poured the contents in to the curse jar. An evil smile cracked his lips. Jay smiled also, but it wasn't an evil smile. It was a smile of triumph. There was hope for his family yet._

...

"Hey, can I take some of these." Gwen asked when they were back in the office, gesturing to the photos that littered the floor. Jay frowned. "What, I'm not going to show anyone. I just... want to look over it some more. Learn more about my dad and mum's legacy."

Jay sighed, but smiled. "OK. I know all this by heart anyway. Just don't let anyone see it, especially not your father. He'd go nuts if he found out his precious daughter had been hanging with a moron like me." He gave a feeble laugh.

"But you used to be best friends!" Gwen exclaimed. Jay laughed.

"Even before the curse, I was always the moron one. A bit strange, but then again, we all were." He put a hand on Gwen's shoulder. "Oh and... a question."

"Yeah?"

"What do you know about a pair of twins called Nicole and Jayden?"

"Thoma- Pythor's kids?" Jay glowered.

"No they're not. His wife that he keeps close, she hates him as much as I do."

"Because she was a ninja?"

Jay gave a sad smile. "Just.. when you see the twins, tell them their dad loves them, OK?"

"Erm, sure." Gwen pocketed a few notes and photos. She was halfway home with them before she even realised what Jay had meant. She was so distracted by this that she didn't notice Mr Thomas walking on the footpath towards her until she bumped into him.

"Oh, erm, sorry sir." Gwen gave a nervous little smile. Mr Thomas smiled back. Did he know? Did he know that she knew?

"Quite alright, Miss Kennedy." Gwen continued on her way, her mind spinning with everything she'd found out. So did Pythor, and in his hand was a picture that he had swiped from her pocket. He read the caption under a sketch of a skulkin warrior and his brow narrowed.

"Blue!" He shoved it in his pocket, fuming at the ninja once again. The ninja whom, thanks to a little help, was already plotting his next move.


	14. Dawn of the Oni Days, Part One

**Whoa, it's been AGES! So busy with other stuff lately! But happy advent everyone. :)**

 **Guest: Really? I turned someone else into a Jay fan? Yes! I'm very glad :) Thanks for your kind comments, as always :)**

 **Yeah, sorry about the wait, I've just got a very busy schedule at the moment. The updates will probably take this long for a while, and I'm really sorry for that!**

 **Buuuuut, we've finally got a Zane chapter!**

Ever since Dewy had first brought him here, Julien had found that he just couldn't stay away. He kept coming back. It was like he was drawn to the place and he wasn't entirely certain it had nothing to do with a certain blonde waitress.

"Back again, Mr Whitehead?" Pixie said with her classic grin. "The usual table and order, I presume?"

Julien was about to nod, when he reconsidered it. He had been trying to lose a little weight recently, and the cheeseburger definitely wasn't going to help. And the usual table was just so far away...

"Actually, I think I'll switch stuff up today. I'll sit near the bar and... have the club sandwich special." The club sandwich special sounded absolutely disgusting when he had read it over on the menu last week, but Pixie didn't need to know that.

The waitress smiled, but it was less of a confident, sassy smile, more kind and caring.

"Sitting near the bar seems good, but the sandwich? Don't try and change yourself for someone. I can guarantee that they'll like you for you." She winked and he blinked in surprise.

"But if you insist." She gestured to a seat that was not only near the bar, but directly at it. "I'll get your sandwich, Julien."

Julien blushed, and smiled, taking his seat. Pixie headed towards the kitchen at a leisurely pace, but quickened when the black haired chef beckoned her from around the door.

"Pixie, get in here!" He said nervously, his eyes darting across the diner. "We've got some urgent stuff to discuss."

Julien watched her disappear, then quickly texted Dewy under the counter.

 _I think she likes me!_

 _Good for you._ The other man replied. This struck Julien as odd, as Dewy rarely replied to a text straight away, but he seemed in a good mood lately.

A few more minutes, and Pixie appeared behind the bar with his sandwich in tow, but she looked downcast.

"What's wrong?" Julien asked nervously. The waitress sighed.

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

...

 **(Once again, the flashbacks have nothing/very little to do with the story)**

 _"Finally!" Kai exclaimed. Cole sighed._

 _"You said that at the last three villages we visited. Why don't you just admit that you have no idea where Mystake lives?" Kai shook his head._

 _"Ninja never quit. And anyway, fourth time's the charm."_

 _"And let me guess, so is the fifth?"_

 _Kai grinned and nodded. "Now you've got it. That is called optimism."_

 _"You're starting to sound like Jay."_

 _The pair trudged onwards through the quiet streets, ignoring stalls that called out to them, asking them to buy cake and things like that. To Kai_ _'s surprise, Cole approached one._

 _"Excuse me madam." He said in a polite tone. "Do you know if we can find an old woman, about this high," He motioned with his hand. "Likes tea and being rude."_

 _"Oh you'll find many like that around here." The woman said. "Many of us oldies litter the streets." She laughed and Cole chucked politely. "But there's only one that fits your description exactly." She continued, and pointed up towards a cluster of tall mountains that rose high above the little town. "Up there, she lives by herself, brewing all sorts of teas, no one knows how she makes what little food she buys from us, last. You want your woman," She jabbed Cole in the chest. "You get climbing."_

 _Cole nodded. "Thank you. Here, for your troubles." He passed her a few coins and headed back to Kai._

 _"How did it go?" The red ninja asked, arms folded._

 _"We found her. She's up in the mountains." Kai grinned._

 _"Fourth time's the charm. Let's go."_

...

"The diner's closing DOWN?!"

Gwen gave a sad nod. Cissy looked aghast. "But it's been there, like, forever, hasn't it?"

"Yep. Apparently, Mr Thomas put in a threat to evict the place because they're not making enough cash. More customers won't help, it's just... too late."

Cissy sighed. "That's too bad. I was beginning to like that place." The pair finished their walk to the classroom (late, as usual), but kept talking when they had sat down.

"Apparently, this robotics nerd who lives in town has offered a job to one of the waitresses, he's trying to start a company of sorts, but he needs at least three employees."

"I don't know a lot about robotics." Cissy admitted. "But some other kids might be willing to help out."

"Someone say robot kids?" Tori enquired, entering the conversation.

"Nah, just some robotics job up for grabs."

"Robotics job?" Jason leaned over from the desk behind. "I do need a new job."

"And I like robots." Tori smiled. Their pair looked at each other. "May the best one win?"

Gwen coughed. " _Cough cough,_ there's two jobs, _cough cough_." The pair blinked in surprise. Cissy laughed.

"Well I guess that makes things easier." Jason smiled. "What's the address? We can swing by after school."

"Well, as I always say, what happens out of schooltime, stays outside of schooltime."

Jason frowned. That didn't sound like something Gwen would say and it was totally out of context of the-

Oh dear.

Mr Blacksmith stood above the four of them, hands on hips.

"Oh, um, forty two?" Tori said quickly. Their teacher shook his head.

"Oh no, I ask a different question, Miss Fielder. I ask you this, is what you are discussing anything to do with inverse equations?"

"No." Gwen sighed. Mr Blacksmith nodded.

"You may continue your conversation, at break time. For now, open those books and get solving."

"Yes sir!" The four chorused and the other kids laughed.

...

After the bell had hit four o'clock that day, Gwen had given Jason and Tori the address and the pair had headed off together to apply for the job.

Conveniently, this time was also when Julien was showing Pixie around his apartment, soon to be workplace. He had managed to tidy up a bit, thrown out trash, tucked his games console into a box and actually cleaned. He'd never seen the place look so tidy before!

"So, I do a few freelance projects for other companies." He told Pixie, gesturing towards a few piles of scrap metal and almost finished projects he'd decided to leave out. "These are for Jeffry Pheonix's company, just adding on a few finishing touches."

"Wow!" Pixie exclaimed. "I don't think I've seen any bot that complicated that wasn't built by another robot! You're quite talented, aren't you?" She smiled. As did Julien.

"I try." He said modestly. Pixie frowned a little.

"Thank you for the offer." She said sadly. "But I don't know the first thing about building robots! How would I fit into a company like this?"

"That's an easy one!" Julien experimented boundaries by placing a comforting hand on her arm. She didn't shrug it off. "There are plenty of jobs in an amateur company that don't include actually making robots. Secretary stuff, delivery... erm..." Pixie gave a small laugh.

"Don't worry. I would quite like to work for you." She smiled. "Even if it means I do more woman jobs. I mean, what spells underpaid female more than waitress of secretary?"

"I'll do my best not to underpay you." Julien gave a small laugh. "So, is that a yes?"

"Yes. Yes it is." The pair looked into each other's eyes for a moment, a very tense moment, one that was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

"Hmm, I haven't invited anyone." Julien frowned and went to open the door.

Two kids stood on the other side, looking vaguely familiar, although Julien couldn't place how.

"Can I help you guys?" He asked.

"Erm, yeah, we saw, well heard about job opportunities here?" The boy said. "And we're interested."

Julien's face cracked into a smile.

"That's great! Haven't even advertised and three employees already." He beckoned them in. "Do you two know Pixie?"

The girl shook her head, but the boy nodded.

"You used to work at the diner, right?" He asked. She nodded.

"Ah yes, I've seen you before. You hang around Gwen."

"Yeah, that's me. I'm Jason, this is Tori." He gestured to his female comrade.

"I'm Julien." Julien shook both of their hands in turn. "And I guess I'll be your employer. Either of you any good at building robots? I could do with a hand on finishing these few."

And so the small, robotics company began, with Julien and Tori finishing the little bots, Jason packing them into boxes and Pixie labelling them with addresses. They chatted while they worked, the awkwardness of being a first day employee quickly wearing off. In face, they somehow started to seem like some sort of family.

...

 _"Hurry up Kai!" Cole called down the mountain. "I wanna make it by nightfall!"_

 _"Yeah yeah, whatever." Kai's foot slipped and he cried out, trying to reclaim his grip. "Oh no!" He slid a few feet down, but manage to recover himself and climbed on. Cole was very near the of the mountain by now, being the superior climber by far. He managed to scramble up to the highest ledge, stood up and stretched. From here, they were high up in the clouds. He could see for miles. Maybe if he squinted, he could see all the way back home, back to his friends, his daughter..._

 _No, that was ridiculous. But it was a nice thing to imagine._

 _Panting, Kai hauled himself up onto the ledge beside Cole._

 _"Wow." He gasped. "That's one heck of a view!"_

 _Cole nodded. "When this whole curse business is over, maybe we can all come here. Admire the sunset together."_

 _"You really think that?"_

 _"Think what?"_

 _"We can stop the curse?" Kai looked out across the horizon, maybe he was imagining he could see all the way back home too. "That Mystake somehow holds the answer?"_

 _Cole sighed. "I don't know. But I sure hope so."_

 _"What might I hold the answer to now?" The pair were startled and span around to see Mystake standing outside of a cave behind them. She was frowning. "I think us three need to talk." She said in a serious voice. She turned and beckoned towards a small cave opening behind them. Cole and Kai glanced uncertainly at each other, then followed the old woman in._

 _At first, the little passage they made their way down was unlit and the walls were rough, causing Cole to curse every time he bumped into a wall. Then the walls somehow became smoother and wider and light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Mystake's form became visible, leading them through into a brightly lit cavern, a smoking caldron in the middle, scrolls and books littering the floor and the walls covered with shelves filled with jars of tea. The place looked cramped, but cosy._

 _"Soo, this is like, your home?" Kai asked, moving some of the scrolls aside so they could sit down. "Neat, very... tucked away."_

 _"People like me must stay hidden." Mystake said, sitting down opposite the two ninja and placing a kettle full of tea ontop of the caldron, lighting the fire beneath. "Or have you forgotten who I truly am?" Kai and Cole shared a wary glance_

 _"So people... know about you?" Cole asked cautiously. Mystake shook her head._

 _"They... guessed. They are unsure of my full potential, however, and I would like to keep it that way. But this conversation is not about me." Mystake peered at the ninja through the candle light that flooded the cavern. "You came here for my help, didn't you?"_

 _Cole nodded. "Pythor had cast a curse on all of Ninjago, one that will take us all to a distant land, separated and without our memories."_

 _"A land where Pythor's in control." Kai snarled. Cole nodded._

 _"We need your help. You're the oldest, most magical person left in Ninjago. We thought, if anyone knows how to stop this curse, it's you."_

 _Mystake sighed, and looked at the ground, stirring the tea on the caldron._

 _"This curse sounds familiar to me. I do believe it is of Oni origin, but is very ancient and very powerful, and so evil that even the Oni will only use it as their last resort to punish. The nature of it is to truly devastate someone, even though they will not know it, to strip them of everything that matters and send the mind they know to limbo, and only an equally powerful, but good magic can bring their memories back."_

 _Kai and Cole glanced uncertainly at each other. "Like the tornado of creation?" Cole offered. Mystake nodded. The tea began to boil._

 _"That could indeed work. That would only undo a tiny bit of the curse though. Getting back the memories. Transferring everyone back to Ninjago and returning the magic is a harder job, and preventing the curse itself..." Mystake sighed. "I alone do not have the power." She removed the now scalding hot tea from the stove as the_ _two ninja's mouths dropped open._

 _"But, but you're our only hope!" Kai exclaimed. "Are you sure there's nothing you can do?"_

 _Mystake poured the tea into three cups and handed one to each ninja, and one for herself. Cole and Kai, still being thirsty from the climb, took a sip. Mystake did not._

 _"I am but one Oni." Mystake admitted. "And an old one at that. My prime has long gone and my magic isn't what it once was. To stop this curse, you would need at least three Oni, all at their prime magical age."_

 _"And Oni like that are impossible to come by." Kai sighed, draining his cup. Cole was about to do the same, he had only taken a few sips, but then he paused. His tea didn't taste like normal tea, it was somewhat bitter in comparison and the caffeine was far stronger, felt all buzzy already. Normally this much tea wouldn't effect him in the slightest, but he was beginning to feel a little light headed. The colour of the tea was strange too, and the scent. Cole glanced at Kai, who was frowning into his cup in a similar fashion. Mystake smiled._

 _"What did you do!" Cole demanded. Mystake laughed._

 _"What I had to. I cannot stop this curse. But maybe, you two can. Use it wisely now. Drink up."_

 _Kai fell the ground with a small shriek of pain. Cole stiffened, but Mystake nodded at his cup._

 _"Don't let him go alone." She said._

 _Cole grimaced, and downed his cup._

 **And I shall have to make a part two to both lines of events in this because there is far more to it than just that! But you've already been waiting long enough for this chapter, so until next time, we'll just have to wait and see!**


	15. Dawn of the Oni Days, Part Two

**Argh, sorry for the huge wait. But story's here and I'll try not to leave the story for so long again. This chapter will create new plot points that won't be resolved until next chapter, so the story is dragged out again!**

 **RPM Shadow: Argh, sorry, this certainly isn't soon!**

 **Guest: Yeah, before they eventually get their memories back, but it's being a slow progress in them getting them back! Thanks :)**

 **Oh, and how's everyone been enjoying season 10, if they're watching it?**

 _Cole blinked and opened his eyes. Everything was red and blurry. He gave a little groan and shut them again. What had that crazy old tea lady DONE?! He hissed in pain and tried to lift a hand to cover his eyes from the burning sun that was making his skin on fire with pain. Everything hurt._

 _Cole had been preparing to lie there forever if he hadn't heard a strange hissing sound to his left. He jumped up in surprise and forced his eyes open._

 _There was an Oni sprawled across the ground next to him._

 _Cole had no idea how he knew what it was, only that he was absolutely certain, those long claws, the curvy horns, the powerful, skinny limbs. Cole scrambled back away from it, wishing that his eyes weren't so clouded._

 _The Oni hissed back at him, looking back at him with a savage growl. It looked... scared but too full of itself to show it._

 _That look was very familiar._

 _"Kai?" Cole exclaimed, only it came out as a strangled hiss. He tried again. Nothing but growling._

 _The Oni looked at him blankly, then hissed something else back._

 _They couldn't communicate his native language. Great._

 _Cole wasn't sure why he suspected that this Oni was Kai, just that there was something about it, it's demeanour, the frustrated hissing noises it was making, how spikey it's dark red fur was..._

 _Wait. If Kai was an Oni..._

 _Cole slowly and steadily, raised his hand in front of his face._

 _Long black claws where his fingers should be._

 _Cole let out a yell, shoving his hand away from him, revealing an identical clawed hand. His gently felt the top of his head. His fur was flatter than Kai's, and darker too._

 _So he was an Oni too. Mystake had turned them both into Oni._

 _He was going to kill her._

 _The Oni that was Kai slowly got to it's slender feet and made it's way over to Cole. Kai seemed to have suspected who he was as well and was trying to communicate. Cole growled angrily back at him. He wasn't quite ready to accept their situation yet._

 _Kai turned away from him and went over to a dead plant that was growing up out of the ground. He wrapped his claws around a root and pulled, grunting a little. Cole frowned at the tough little plant. He'd never seen a plant like that before in Ninjago, which could only mean..._

 _They weren't even in Ninjago._

 _They weren't in their normal bodies and they weren't in Ninjago._

 _Great._

 _Kai had succeeded in his wrestling match with the plant and used his teeth to bite off a long, strong stick, spitting out little bits of the wood. He then made sure that Cole was watching, and dug the plant into the ground._

 _He was writing in the sand. One word. 'Cole?'._

 _Cole nodded and pointed at the Oni._

 _'Kai'. Kai wrote out. Cole nodded again._

 _'We're Oni'._

 _Again, Cole nodded. He got unsteadily to his feet and beckoned towards the stick. Kai passed it over and he wrote out a message of his own._

 _'We're also in the 1st realm. I think'_

 _Kai looked around, squinting. He hit himself over the forehead._

 _'U didn't guess?"_

 _Kai shook his head and beckoned towards the stick._

 _'What do we do now?' He wrote._

 _Cole took it back and the pair managed a conversation, swapping the stick back and forth._

 _'M must have sent us here for a reason. Find more Oni for the spell?'_

 _'I don't see any'_

 _'I think this is the dragon area of the realm. Oni should like the dark. My skin burns.'_

 _'Mine 2. Maybe they're only out at night?'_

 _'Maybe. But we need to figure out a way of talking. My arm hurts'._

 _Kai frowned and took the stick, twirling it in his claws and dropping it on the ground again. He quickly picked it up again, considered, then shrugged._

 _Cole sighed. It was going to be a long day._

...

It was being a long day. Alex was already waiting anxiously for the clock to hit four so he could go home. He wanted to talk to Jean again, perhaps discuss the closing diner which had put her out of a job. But he was still stuck having tiresome board meetings and signing meaningless paperwork for another six hours.

Alex sighed and rubbed at his fringe, making it spike up. He grinned. The look suited him. For a few minutes he amused himself by making his hair stand up on end. He looked wild. Like a biker. If it wasn't for the wheelchair, he might as well be one. Yeah, that was an idea, just take off on the back of his motorbike, travel around the country getting rich in alcohol and girlfriends. Perhaps he could even save some people from crime. That seemed a much better life for him than the one he had right now, stuck behind his desk, watching the hours tick by. Not for the first time in his career, Alex actually considered quitting. Ditching his business, leave it to Mr Pheonix or Mr Thomas for all he cared. Take off.

He might have actually done it a long time ago if it weren't for his daughter. And his chair. It was like being permanently grounded. He couldn't walk or run. And worse still, he could barely remember the times where he had been able to. His childhood. Before the accident. all those memories were foggy and mixed up.

But he still knew that he missed being able to walk. Very much. Most of the time he was able to ignore these longings, but on certain days, that ache that he buried deep down inside of him rose up again and Alex found himself staring out of the window at normal, walking people.

People who didn't know how lucky they were. Lucky bastards.

On a day like this, Alex didn't want any disturbances. Unfortunately, that was when his desk intercom decided to crackle into life.

"Mr Kennedy, Mr Pheonix has arrived with a request to see you."

Today was not his day.

...

 _Today was not Cole's day. The sun was burning his skin all over as he and Kai trekked unsteadily across the desert. They weren't even sure if they were heading in the right direction to find the Oni, heck, Cole wasn't even sure if they were in the 1st realm anymore. They could be anywhere. they could be dreaming, they could even be dead._

 _Well, a few more days like this one, and Cole probably wouldn't care less._

 _No, no, what was he thinking?! He had his adoptive daughter to take care of when he got back, and his friends. He still wanted to live to see Jay and Nya tie the knot. And he still had to break the news to the others about his boyfriend. There was so much left to do before he was gone. Before the curse hit._

 _Cole sighed. The sun was frying his brain. And now they were lost in a realm they knew very little about. With no way back to Ninjago, or to their old bodies. Cole was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice when Kai tapped him on the shoulder. So Kai decided to shove him face first into the dirt._

 _Cole lifted his head off the sand and glared at Kai with murderous eyes, ready to shove him back. But Kai wasn't looking at him. He was staring off to the West of the two Ninja, and pointing. He gestured towards the thing he was pointing at with his head and Cole (still annoyed) looked._

 _Darkness. A giant blooming cloud lying upon the horizon. Cole gasped and got to his feet._

 _Kai was pointing at the cloud. He shrugged in Cole's direction. 'Should we go?' It meant._

 _Cole didn't want to go towards that cloud. He wanted to run in the opposite direction as fast as he could, every part of his mind was telling him to go, get away, get back to Jay, Nya, Clarisse and the others._

 _But he couldn't run away now. This could be their only hope._

 _Cole nodded and the pair set off towards the cloud._

...

Alex sighed and was about to tell his secretary to make Jeffry go away, but it was too late, the blonde had already entered the room. Alex sighed again, not in the mood to talk.

"What do you want, Pheonix?" He snapped.

"Collaboration."

"Excuse me?" The pair hadn't really spoken since their awkward truce back at the hospital, and Alex was surprised to hear it being mentioned again.

"Collaberation." Jeffry said again. "I'm gonna put it to you straight, I am going broke. My company is dying. If I want to salvage any profit, I've gotta swallow my pride and join up with someone else, or it's going bankrupt. And you are practically the only option."

Despite his unsteady mood, Alex laughed. "Never thought I'd see the day!" He chuckled. "Why not just sell the business though? Before anyone else realises how broke you are."

Jeffry sighed. "I was made an offer by Mr Thomas-"

"The Snake King of Airspin."

"Yeah, him. I turned it down, I take pride in my work, my business. I'd rather see it as a spin off of your business, a worthy rival, than in the clutches of that slimy drifter."

Alex did laugh at this. "You would have thought that he'd realise by now that no one trusts or likes him. Not even his kids."

As he said this, Jeffry suddenly stiffened. "He has kids?" He said in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, twins I think. He and his wife were separated, then they came back to town."

Jeffry's entire expression dropped into malice. "He what?!"

"What's your problem."

Jeffry scowled and sat down on the edge of Alex's desk, much to the former's aggravation. "He told me his wife was dead."

Now it was Alex's turn to be shocked.

"What?!"

"He told me his wife was dead." Jeffry repeated, hands clenched into fists.

"Why would he say that?!"

"I don't know, to make me try sympathise with that smarmy git!" Jeffry snarled. "To make it seem like we had something in common! That's a sick thing to lie about!"

Alex's eyes widened. "Your, your wife's dead?"

Jeffry shook his head. "Missing. She's been a missing person for three years. The police have already given up the search."

Alex was shocked. "I, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Yeah, well that's all that can be expected." Jeffry sighed. "I'm glad I never sold my company to that jerk!" He scowled. "What do you reckon he's say to you, you know, trust me because I was also in a wheelchair, or some shit?" He gave a small laugh.

Alex clenched his fists. "Don't joke about things you don't understand." He snapped. Jeffry looked towards him, surprised.

"My life has been restricted for years because of this chair! I used to be so... I don't know, cool! And now look at me!" It was Alex's turn to rant while the other watched. "All because of one loose break line in a car and BAM, straight off the track! My wife was dead, my baby daughter was unconscious! I was disabled, my life flew off track!" Alex looked up at Jeffry, eyes filled with fire like anger. "So do not make jokes about my condition! Especially not while I'm in the room!"

Jeffry bit his lip. "Uh, sorry. I... I didn't think, I was still too mad."

Alex sighed. "Not your fault. The mechanic's fault."

"Huh?"

"With the car."

"Oh." Jeffry stood up. "Should we... get back to business then. Rather than ranting about our enemies?"

Alex frowned. "Actually, I think I have a better idea."

...

 _It hadn't been a good idea. None of it. Going to find Mystake, drinking the tea, going into the cloud, all stupid and bad ideas._

 _Cole's hands were chained in front of him, Kai by his side, both of them injured. Both of them pathetic excuses for the Oni they were meant to be now._

 _Pythor stood in front of them, laughing with superiority._

 _Cole could hardly believe it. How was he here, in the realm with them, not only that, but with a trap all laid out and ready for them. And where were the real Oni? How had Pythor done this, was he controlling Mystake or something? His newfound powers?_

 _"Oh this is too good!" Pythor wiped a mock tear out of his eye. "The famous ninja, chained at my feet at last! Did you honestly think you could find a way to stop me and my curse? And now look at you! Pathetic excuses for some of the most powerful creatures to ever walk the sixteen realms!"_

 _Cole growled. If it had been in Ninjagian, it wouldn't have been appropriate for young ears._

 _Pythor laughed harder. "Aww, what's the matter, Master of Earth? A little evil in your throat, hmm?" He slithered towards the two ninja. Kai lunged at him from his chained position, growling and straining at his chains. Pythor tutted at him. "Oh tsk, Master of Fire, please don't break up my evil monologue. After all, we all must be civil in our last remaining days here in these realms of magic."_

 _Kai growled fiercely, and even Cole could understand he meant something along the lines of 'I'll show you where to stick being civil!'._

 _Pythor laughed. "I suppose you two are wondering how I was capable of predicting your arrival here!" Oh great, more evil gloating. Cole caught Kai's eye an rolled his eyes. Kai made a muffled laughing sound. Pythor scowled._

 _"Fine. Laugh, if you will. You won't be laughing for long." He cleared his throat. "I discovered a magical dungeon of powerful dark magic deep underneath Ninjago City, left behind from when the Oni came to this realm in search of the 1st Spinjitzu Master. It granted me my powers and the tools to create a curse. There I also found a magical mirror, capable of showing me what my enemies were up to. So I used it, saw that crazy old tea lady's plans and decided to set a trap for you. I used my magic to travel to this realm, thankfully all the Oni were already gone when I arrived. I lured you with a fake cloud of Oni magic and now we're here!" He laughed. "Of course I'll have to take you back to Ninjago as my prisoners, we can't have you missing out on my curse, now can we?"_

 _Cole growled in anger. Of course they had been stupid enough to be tricked in such a way! Now thanks to his foolishness, they would never be able to stop the curse, and worse, they wouldn't even be able to say goodbye! He and Kai were so caught up either trying to plan escape (Kai) or just wallowing in their defeat (Cole) that they didn't protest when Pythor created the portal back to Ninjago and dragged them through. There were no Oni in this realm. Their mission had failed and there was no way they could escape Pythor's clutches. They were done for._

 _There was no way this situation could get any worse. Right?._

 _Wrong. Because if there was anyone Cole didn't expect to be waiting for them on the other side of the portal, it would have been Jay Walker._

 _But that was exactly who was there._


	16. Crimes of the Blue Ninja

**Slightly longer chapter than normal this time, but there's a lot to get in.**

 **RPM Shadow: For the time being, yes, but not permenantly. Yeah I also found them on youtube, that season was so amazing! It's not the last season, there's season 11 to come and much more I think!**

 **Guest: Yeah, I've seen the whole thing by now, spectacular. Thanks, I thought it would be an idea to include some bits of the Oni story arc to add in some bits of the cannon. As always, thanks :)**

"You and Mr Pheonix are teaming up to get revenge on Mr Thomas for being a big phony?" Gwen exclaimed as she and her father walked down the street towards the now closed diner. Alex wanted to scout it as a possible buy.

"Not so loud!" He hissed. "But yeah, he's had the run of this town for way too long."

Gwen grinned. Thanks to Jay, she knew the real reason why no one in the town liked Mr Thomas, and no curse could ever take that away. This plot between two of the ninja could be just what they needed to trigger memories.

"So, what's the plan?" Gwen asked eagerly. "Can I be part of it? Can Lukas and Anita? This is going to be awesome!"

Alex sighed. "We haven't really got all the details worked out yet. But if you're needed then, yeah, you can help."

Gwen grinned. It was all going so right! She was helping to break the curse! With her father and friends by her side.

As they turned the corner, Both father and daughter stiffened as they saw a familiar and much unwelcome face standing in front of the diner. Mr Thomas himself stood there, walking cane in one hand, sizing up the building in front of him. He turned as Alex and Gwen arrived and greeted them with that malicious smile of his.

"Ah, Mr Kennedy! And Miss Kennedy too, how do you like this new venue that just opened up? I was thinking of purchasing it, since business opportunities are fast drying up in this town." Alex gritted his teeth. "In fact, there may not be space for more than one large companies for much longer-"

"No thanks." Alex said coldly. "We best be off." Alex wheeled himself past Mr Thomas as quickly as he could, and Gwen struggled to catch up.

"He's so... annoying." She said after a while of cold silence. Alex sighed.

"I don't know why, he just stinks of evil to me. Like... we need to stop him from... doing something."

Gwen nodded. "Yeah, maybe you and Mr Pheonix can take over his company and run this town's industry together!" She offered. A way to unite the ninja, she needed a way to unite them all... "Oh, and I know someone who can help!"

...

 _Cole and Kai tumbled out of the portal and landed rather painfully on the cold stone floor. After coming to a sudden realisation that he was no longer tied up, Cole attempted to get to his feet and make a run for it, when he realised that he was still in Oni form. The last thing he needed was to cause and panic and for the other ninja to kill him my mistake before they realised who he was. So he decided to stay put next to Kai, who was groaning slightly._

 _A sudden, familiar voice cut through the mist of portal lag._

 _"Welcome back." It said sullenly, and Cole stiffened at the tone of the voice, a voice he knew very well. Forcing himself to look up, he saw a familiar person seated in a dark corner, staring glumly at the floor. Kai was also looking and stiffened, glancing at Cole. Cole didn't take his eyes off the figure for a second. What was he doing here? Greeting Pythor? And how did he not recognise his friends._

 _"Apprentice!" Pythor snapped, the very word chilling Cole to the bone. "I gave you orders! Why are you just sitting there?"_

 _"May I remind you that I don't work for you?" The figure stood up._

 _"May I remind you that I have your 'one true love' as a prisoner." Pythor snarled, using air quotes._

 _The figure, who of course, was Jay, scowled, but went over to a table of chemicals or magic or both that was bubbling away in the corner._

 _Cole growled a low growl. His friend, his fellow ninja, was working for Pythor!_

 _"What are you doing Jay!" He snarled. "You're a ninja, where's your loyalty?!"_

 _It came out in a series of barking growls. Jay turned in his direction. Cole hoped for a moment, just a small flicker of recognition between them. But no, Jay's eyes just glanced at them, nothing more, then returned to Pythor, who was doing something behind them._

 _"What are they?" Jay asked, zapping some red chemical with his lightning powers. Powers he was meant to be using against Pythor!_

 _"Don't you recognise them?" Pythor asked, voice on the verge of bursting out laughing. Jay shook his head._

 _Pythor laughed. Kai groaned. Cole put his head in his hands._

 _"Well, Jay Walker, say hello to your beloved teammates; Kai and Cole."_

 _Jay dropped the flask he was holding, his eyes staring at the two Oni before him in shock. So much emotion flashed behind his eyes, regret, guilt, happiness that they were alive, anger, frustration, hatred..._

 _"Cole?" He said in a weak voice. "Kai?"_

 _Cole gave a growl of anger, turning his face towards Jay's. His eyes were pure venom._

 _"It, it's not what you think!" Jay gasped. "He-"_

 _Pythor sent a burst of magic hurtling towards Jay and the blue ninja coughed and gagged. He tried to speak, but no words came out._

 _"Tsk, excuses, excuses." Pythor sighed. "Now your friends know just how big of a traitor you are." Jay looked at the ground sullenly. Kai stared in shock. Cole growled in anger._

 _Jay had betrayed them._

...

"Mr Walker, uh, Mr Blue!" Gwen called, rattling the door to Jay's office. "Open up!"

The door slid open to reveal a very annoyed looking Jay Walker.

"I could have had a customer!" He snapped. "Watch it!"

"Sorry, but this is important."

"So is security. If Pythor catches on, we're dead! Literally, he's not letting me slip through his fingers another time!"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I need your help with something my dad came up with. I think you'll enjoy it."

Jay frowned.

"Go on."

Gwen briefly explained her father's plot with Jeffry Pheonix and how they could unite the ninja to take down Pythor. How it might help the other ninja remember.

"What do you say?" She asked with a grin.

Jay frowned.

"It's a great plan, but in case you've forgotten, one of the ninja currently thinks she is married to that snake." He snapped, getting even angrier just thinking about it. "And Zane's busy with his new business. He doesn't think he holds much against Pythor anyway. And Cole..." He sighed. "That's just not going to work."

"Oh come on!" Gwen snapped. "Don't you want to break the curse? Don't you want them to remember?"

Jay frowned. His friends remembering would mean they remembered what he had done...

He sighed.

"I won't join in your plot." He said. "But, I will help in my own way. I need you to be my eyes on the inside. Keep tabs on the ninja the best you can. Figure out some routines, then report back to me every week or so. I need to figure out where to strike.

"Where to strike?" Gwen asked, confused.

Jay grinned.

"Perhaps it's time to dust down the old ninja gi." He said.

...

 _For the rest of the time left until the curse struck, Jay, Cole, Kai and Pythor lived in that little dungeon, Jay and Pythor mixing different little magical experiments that could help spread the curse faster and weaken the chance of it ever being broken. Kai and Cole simply watched, waiting for the effects of the Oni spell Mystake had put on them to wear off. About two weeks into this strange routine, the claws they had been given began to shrink back into fingers. Little by little, their old bodies began to return._

 _Because of his fury towards the situation, Cole's Oni form began to vanish a little slower than Kai's did. He was so annoyed he wasn't focusing on what could come next. They needed some form of plan in order for the three of them to escape Pythor and stop the curse, but any sort of planning would be very difficult until they could communicate._

 _Kai began to take notice of Jay and what he was doing. How he and Pythor interacted. Due to the occasional blackmail threat about a certain prisoner that was locked away somewhere, and how Pythor always barked orders that Jay would miserably follow; it was obvious that Jay was just as much a prisoner was Kai and Cole. Pythor did all the errand that required leaving the dungeon, but for some reason, he trusted Jay to guard his fellow Ninja. Kai had attempted to get Jay's attention once or twice, trying to ask for a pen and paper, but Jay always ignored him. Despite being a prisoner, he was trusted by Pythor and showed no sign of breaking that trust._

 _One particular night, Jay messed up an apparently important spell so badly that Pythor rendered him a prisoner that night too, chaining him to the wall along with the other ninja, who were beginning to look a bit more like their old selves. Jay tore a strip of cloth from his shirt and wound it around his damaged eye, hands shaking. Kai knew from many years of companionship that Jay was trying not to cry._

 _"Jay?" He said in a low voice, and gasped in shock as he realised he could talk again. Jay gave a start, as did Cole, who immediately tried speaking himself. He growled in frustration._

 _"Kai?" Jay whispered back. He looked scared and vulnerable, his eye still bleeding and foaming slightly. "I, I'm sorry, I never wanted this, I'm not on his side, he just..." The blue ninja broke down a little, tears rolling freely out of his working eye. "And now you're here, the curse is coming and it's all my stupid fault!" He sniffed and tried to wipe his face, but only managed to get it grimy._

 _"Jay... I..." Kai found his voice sticking again. "I don't... blame..." His speech faded into growling and he sighed._

 _"Don't blame me?" Jay asked. Kai nodded and tried to smile. Jay sniffed, and hugged his knees._

 _"I don't care. I blame me, I... Kai, I'm so glad you're alive but... if you guys knew what I've done..."_

 _Cole gave a small growl from the corner, an asking tone in his growl. It sounded softer than normal. He wanted to know. So did Kai. But Jay shook his head._

 _"No I... I can't. You'll hate me but..." He looked out at the dungeon. "The curse is going to hit any day now. Guys, I need to tell you, I managed to create something under Pythor's nose." He grinned, that special crafty. "I've managed to pick up a little magic here and there. I managed to make a sort of prophecy spell, and because of it, the curse won't last forever!"_

 _Kai gave a little happy sound. Cole gave a sound that pressed for more details._

 _"I made a potion that, if ingested by an unborn baby, they can become what I call, the saviour!" Jay gave it a second to sink in. "They can break the curse, with the help of their sibling, a ninja and their romantic partner, you know, boyfriend or girlfriend, haven't quite worked it all yet, but if we can get to Skylor before the curse hits..." Jay cleared his throat, realising how ridiculous he sounded. "Anyway, if we could-_

 _"Jay." Cole managed to wheeze out. "Only you would come up with something that crazy. This... might work."_

 _Jay gave a small smile, then a sudden gasp of fear as he realised that Pythor was standing right in front if them with that evil smile on his face._

 _"Oh so sorry to break up this little reunion we're having here, but you honestly didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"_

 _Jay took a deep breath, and stood up._

 _"It's three against one, Pythor." He snapped. "We can take you on, even if you do have magic!"_

 _"Hmm, even when you three are chained with Vengestone and the curse is mere hours away from hitting?"_

 _"Erm, yes?" Jay said, a little weakly._

 _Pythor laughed again._

 _"You can joke, it's too late." He snatched something up from the nearest table and went over to Kai. It was a sinister looking black serum that swirled in the glass. Kai recoiled. Pythor grinned._

 _"Open wide, red ninja." He said._

 _"What... is that?" Cole managed to choke out._

 _Pythor gave no answer, simply grabbed Kai under the chin and forced his head back._

 _"NO!" Jay cried, and leapt to his feet and jumped at Pythor with all the slack that his chains had. He attempted to throttle the snake, but was suddenly thrown to the ground, hitting the floor hard. He gave a small groan, and was suddenly scooped off the ground by Pythor's tail around his neck. With one swift hand, the serpentine undid Jay's chains, while choking him. Jay was then hurled across the room into the chemical table._

 _"What part of 'you cannot defeat me' did you not understand?!" Pythor snarled. "It's too late, ninja!" He grabbed Kai's head and forced his mouth open, pouring the concoction down his throat._

 _Kai coughed and gagged. The other ninja waited for it to have some sort of horrible effect. But no, all that happened was Kai's face and hair returning to their normal shade and shape. His claws became fingers and when he tested his voice, he could speak clearly._

 _"You, you reversed the tea's effects!" He exclaimed._

 _Pythor nodded. "Simply sped up the process. Now come, ninja." He grabbed Kai by the arm, unlocking his chains, but still keeping him cuffed._

 _"What are you doing?" Kai demanded._

 _Pythor grinned._

 _"What, surely you want to see your wife one last time, don't you?"_

 _As Kai was dragged towards the door, he noticed Jay, barely conscious, but still determinedly trying to get his attention. He pointed to a small vial that was resting on a table by the door._

 _The potion Jay had created!_

 _As subtly as he could, Kai reached out and grabbed it, tucking it into his pocket. Jay gave a small grin and mouthed to him 'you got this'._

 _This just left Cole and Jay in the dungeon._

 _Jay knew that the curse could descend at any moment. But he couldn't slip away from his memories, his friends, his home, without telling someone the truth._

 _"Cole?" He asked in a small voice._

 _"Yeah?" Cole grunted back._

 _"I need to tell someone this, before, before it's too late."_

 _Cole gave a small frown._

 _"I... I helped Pythor cast the curse." Jay admitted. Cole's eyes widened. Jay thought he would feel less crushing guilt once this was off his chest, but one look at Cole's face just made it worse._

 _"You did what?!" Cole snapped, his voice dangerous._

 _"He, he threatened to hurt Skylor, he has Nya-"_

 _"You betrayed the ninja!" Cole snarled. "Jay, I hope for your sake that this curse doesn't break any time soon because I will break your face! You-"_

 _A large booming noise echoed through the entire sewer and the pair stiffened, looking up._

 _Sinister black clouds were heading down the passage towards the dungeon._

 _"The curse!" Jay gasped._

 _Cole's speech slipped into growling._

 _Jay hung his head as the clouds entered the dungeon._

 _"I'm so sorry Cole." He whispered._


	17. Small Steps to a Goal

**Hello again, yes I know I haven't updated since Winter, the explanation for that is still up on my profile, but finally I have some time to bring in new chapters!**

 **Guest: Yay, I got the desired effect of the chapter! Thank you :)**

 **RPM Shadow: Yes, it's definitely going to put a certain strain on their relationship, and anyone would be angry in that situation! Yes, he will get to see her, if you look back at the first chapter he managed to make an appearance. Thank you :)**

 **Again, sorry for the lack of updates, but I'm introducing some heavy plot points this chapter, and some bits about Cole before the curse hits. And another OC, because I couldn't think of a character in the show who would suit the role I have planned for the character. Anyhow, enjoy**

Nothing happened abruptly with Alex and Jeffry's 'revolution'. It was all small steps, they decided. And then one day, Mr Thomas's car was towed because he was parked on a double yellow line. Nothing he hadn't done before, but bribery had previously been enough to keep him out of trouble. Now though, his money couldn't match that of Jeffry and Alex combined. It was a small victor over a man they both detested, but seemed like an amazing triumph.

Me Thomas was on his way to fetch his car, fuming as he did so. It seemed some of the ninja had teamed up in order to spite him! It seemed something was bringing the ninja closer together, something which might just throw a spanner into the whole workings of the curse he had created. He has spent too much time, worked too hard to see his hard work come to an end like this! No, the next thing he did would be to split the ninja further apart so they would never be able to undo the curse.

Well, after picking up his car that was.

Mr Thomas arrived to find the towing yard closed with a sign saying it wouldn't be open for another ten minutes. Mr Thomas gave a small groan of exhasperation and clenched his fists. As soon as he got his car he would buy this yard for the bottom rate and destroy the owner's financial life permanently.

"Ah, hello Mr Thomas." The snake opened his eyes to see a familiar and unwelcome figure standing in front of him, 'Rocky' Blacksmith, the black ninja. "I've never seen you here before. I usually have to pick up my car every other week, can never keep track of these regulations."

"Clearly." Mr Thomas rolled his eyes. He would much rather be flattening this ninja to a pulp than talking to him, but there they were, in this world that was so very different from the one they were from.

"Anyhow, I heard on the street you were trying to buy Mr Pheonix's business. How'd that go?"

"Wonderful." Mr Thomas said sarcastically. "He's a charming specimen who refuses to sell his business even though he's in more debt than he could ever pay off! I-" Mr Thomas realised that he was ranting and hastily shut his mouth. The last thing he needed was to spill some of his secrets about the curse and inspire this man to join up with his fellow ninja...

An idea sprang to Mr Thomas's mind, something that only Pythor, the last true annacondrai could have ever dreamed up. He turned to Rocky, who was drumming his fingers impatiently on the side of the gate. He had once been a ninja, but now, here he was, a mere shell of his former glory. Perfect for his plan.

"Mr Blacksmith?"

Rocky looked up. "Yeah?"

"You are a teacher, correct?"

"Yes, I teach your kids." Pythor mentally slapped himself for forgetting that he was posing as the father to the blue ninja's offspring.

"Ah yes, I remember. That can't pay a lot can it?"

"It pays enough." Rocky frowned. "Why?"

"Well, how would you like to earn a little extra cash? I mean, there are some jobs I need doing..."

...

 _Cole felt the sun warm his back as he stepped off his unusually inconspicuous motorcycle. One of the perks of constantly wearing black was that he was rarely cold, and even on sunny days like this when the colour black wasn't really required, Cole still wore his ninja colours with pride._

 _The black ninja stopped momentarily outside of a bakery on one of the main streets of Ninjago City. It was a moderately famous place with expensive cake, but to Cole, anything purchased there was worth it. But, shockingly, Cole wasn't here for the cake. Taking a brief moment to sweep his hair to one side and compose himself, he stepped inside._

 _A delightful aroma of sugar and pastries hit his nostrils with the warmth he associated with his all time favourite dessert, and, aside from his fellow ninja, one of his all time favourite people._

 _Cole saw his boyfriend serving an old lady behind the counter, and smiled. He really loved to see Jack in his element, helping people find their favourite baked goodie, always with a smile. Jack glanced up and caught sight of Cole standing there and grinned._

 _"Will that be all, ma'am?"_

 _The old woman nodded. "Yes, thank you." Cole watched as Jack handed her the receipt and change, their eyes briefly meeting every few seconds. At long last, the woman passed Cole and left the shop and the Master of Earth walked over to his boyfriend._

 _"Hi." He said brightly, a small sense of awkwardness rising as they met._

 _Jack nodded in greeting. "Hey." He said. "I've just got a clock out, be right with you." Cole smiled, and a few minutes later, the pair of them stepped out on to the street. Cole felt the tensions of the previous week, the arguments and the battles the team had had to endure. It felt good, to have a few hours to relax with someone he didn't share the responsibility of saving Ninjago with._

 _In fact, Cole was pretty sure Jack had no idea that he was a ninja. True, his voice was vaguely recognisable and when he wore his ninja girl, everyone would notice. But in casual clothing, Cole was pretty sure he wasn't the sort of person who turned heads in the street, or generally was noticed at all._

 _Well, except for Jack._

 _"What's the plan for tonight?" Jack asked with a smile._

 _"Well, there's a screening of one of those old horror movies tonight, you know, the ones where we annoy people because we're yelling at all the jump scares." Jack gave an laugh, as soft and beautiful as a three layer Victoria Sponge. "And then buy some picnic stuff. I found this beautiful cliff face with one of those views that you just want to stare at forever._

 _His boyfriend smiled. "That sounds perfect." Their hands brushed against each other and didn't let go. "Oh, and for that picnic, I managed to get my hands on... this!" He produced a small cake in a box, decorated with fancy swirls in orange and grey. "Your favourite colour, and my favourite colour."_

 _It looked almost too good to eat. Almost._

 _"Ok, now it's perfect." Cole said with a smile, and drew his boyfriend into a kiss. It lasted longer than Cole has intended, but was just as perfect._

 _"Come on." He said with a smile. "Let's go have fun!"_

 _"The fun has already begun." Jack said, smiling back._

...

"You want to invest in my company?" The question was so unexpected and out of nowhere that Pixie almost dropped the box of fragile robot parts that Jason and Tori had spent ages assembling yesterday.

Wincing, she put the box down on a nearby table and began listening in time her boss's conversation.

"Yes, yes, that"s absolutely fine. You see we... oh, you do? Ah, of course. Yes, yes, no that's fine. Thank you. Alright, I'll see you there." Julien put the phone down, and turned around to face Pixie. He was grinning.

"We have an investment!" He exclaimed. "I was just on the phone with someone who wants to invest in us! I didn't think this would happen so soon!"

Pixie smiled. "Good. We can all get a raise." She started sorting through the robot parts. "So who was it?"

"The investor?"

"Yeah. Was it Mr Kennedy? I've noticed he started to frequent at the diner before it closed."

Julien shook his head. "No. Mr Thomas."

This surprised Pixie. She frowned. "I always thought of him to be too snobbish and snobbish to invest in small businesses. What does he want in return?"

"Well, he said he would invest in us for a discount and, or free charge on some stuff he wants us to build." Julien said. "I'm supposed to meet him tomorrow to discuss the financial details."

Pixie subconsciously knew this was a bad idea, but what could she do? There was no reason for her not to trust Mr Thomas, but for some reason she just didn't want to trust him. Something didn't feel right...

...

Pythor smiled as he went over his notes another time. Like Jay, he too had put together a series of notes and sketches detailing the ninja and the people they had once been. He looked towards the pictures of Cole, Zane and Nya, and then Lloyd, Kai and Jay. He had if Jay was currently working with the red and green ninja, but if they were truly beginning an uprising of sorts, he knew that the blue ninja wouldn't be far behind. But if tomorrow went well...

Well then. He could successfully divide the ninja once and for all. They'd all know who was boss in Airspin.

And his name was Pythor P Chumsworth.

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for sticking around to read after the long wait :)**


	18. AN (Rewrite)

**OK, I've been thinking about this for a while, and yeah, as the chapter title says, I'm gonna rewrite this story. It just feels really messy to me and I have a lack of motivation and inspiration for individual chapters, and nobody really seems interested in it anymore. I'm gonna give it another go at some point, not sure when because I have to write up some other things first, but yeah, I'm sorry about this. See you guys sometime in the future :)**

 **-Steanpunk Wilson**


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